Marina is cleaner as residents take to the streets

12.00.00am GMT Mon 12th Jan 2009

Staverton Marina residents turned out in force on Sunday morning to rid the area of litter. The community-spirited residents in Staverton were joined by Liberal Democrat prospective MP Duncan Hames for a new year litter-pick that had been organised by Cllr Trevor Carbin.

There was no shortage of litter to collect, and by the end of the session over 20 large bin bags of rubbish plus an old shopping trolley were taken to the Canal Road Household Recycling Centre. The worst areas were the car park at the shops and the canal towpath.

Staverton Marina has expanded rapidly in recent years, but the provision of bins has not kept pace with the increasing population. The presence of the canal and the fact that the Marina is also something of a visitor attraction means it probably gets more than its fair share of litter.

The shortage of bins in the area has been made worse by a phantom bin thief - two bins have mysteriously disappeared recently.

"Local people have rolled-up their sleeves and taken the initiative today, showing they aren't interested in petty squabbles about whose responsibility this is. The district council and local businesses now need to work together to get bins in place to help stop the area becoming a mess again," says Duncan Hames.

"The success of the event means the parish council is now considering making it a regular occurrence, although we're also hoping to get more bins in place. The best solution of course would be if we could persuade our fellow citizens not to drop litter in the first place," said district councillor Trevor Carbin.