Hot summer helps group clear 'buckets' of lake litter

There is a man in a dark blue polo shirt which has two symbols on his chest pocket. The top symbol says "Shropshire Council" on a dark blue background. Below it, it says "Shropshire's Great Outdoors." He is stood in a lake and has a duck over to his right.

Image source, Matt Smith / BBCImage caption,

Lee Fraser is the park ranger for The Mere

ByCharlie Stubbs, Shropshire and Matt Smith, in Ellesmere

Published20 minutes ago

Volunteers in a north Shropshire town have been able to litter pick inside a prominent lake because its water levels have dropped due to the recent hot weather.

With this summer being the hottest and one of the driest on record, lakes and rivers across the country have been running low.

It has meant Ellesmere park ranger, Lee Fraser, has been able to go into the Mere with volunteers and pick out litter, such as bricks, pottery and mobile phones.

He said the team have already collected "five big bucket loads" of litter which he said "covered half the distance" of the town's promenade.

Fraser said this year they decided to collect litter by standing in the water, as it was easier to see what was in the water.

"We tried it last year from a boat, which when you stand on the bank, you can see all the bricks.

"Once in the water, on the boat, even if you are next to them and someone's shouting that it's right next to you, you cannot find it.

"There are quite a lot of bricks out on the side now already and we have only been at it less than an hour", he said.

There is a lot of broken bricks laid up in a line next to a lake. They are on top of a black brick outline and a red brick inside.

Image source, Matt Smith / BBCImage caption,

Old bricks are among the things found in the Mere

He added that he thought it would take some time for the level of The Mere to recover.

"It will be quite a while [for it to recover] even with the heavy rains we have had," Fraser said.

"It is slightly deeper than it was the other week but not significantly, and over the surface of the Mere it takes quite a lot for it to get [back to normal.]

The Mere is also cared for by volunteers like local resident, Wendy Salter.

She has been part of the team for three years and said she has enjoyed volunteering to help her community.

"A lot of this rubbish comes from such a big area. [What we find] varies a lot. I also found a mobile phone last week", Salter added.