'We do what we can but littering is getting worse'

"We can make a difference but it's frustrating that so many people don't seem to have any pride in their town."

Dave McDonald set up the Crewe Clean Team in Crewe, Cheshire, in 2011 after spending much of his time clearing litter from an alleyway behind his house.

Since he first sent out an email to about 15 people asking if they would be interested in joining, the group has grown to 284 members who have carried out 138 litter picks across the town to date.

But for Mr McDonald, the issue of rubbish being carelessly discarded has only got worse since the clean team was born.

He put this down to a lack of education and a lack of enforcement, but he also said there had been a "cultural change".

"More people eat 'on the hoof' and the number of takeaway food outlets has grown to meet that demand," he said. "Some of these people, like some dog owners, are irresponsible."

He said Cheshire East Council and the government needed to do more to tackle the issue.

"It's very frustrating but what I can say is that we [Crewe Clean Team] are doing something about it and that is positive," Mr McDonald added.

"We can make a difference but it's frustrating that so many people don't seem to have any pride in their town. It's something that many of us who do this work in the clean team don't understand."

The team holds a litter pick every month, with about 15 to 25 volunteers tackling different parts of Crewe each time.

Mr McDonald said they collect at least 30 bags of waste at every litter pick. The most ever collected was about 55 bags, he added.

The group carries out a number of other projects, including planting flowers at various sites across the town, including at the Christ Church ruins.

They have also recycled 4.75 tonnes of aluminium cans, written a "greener developments guide" for councillors considering planning applications and recently started a project to install swift nest boxes.

While the group often faced challenges in raising enough money to function, Mr McDonald said the work was vital to the town's people and its wildlife, as well as to the volunteers' social lives.

"People often tell us that we are doing the council's job," he said. "It is a way for them to justify to themselves why they are not helping to keep their own town clean.

"Of course, the council and the government should be doing more and we remind them of that regularly.

"However, we all know that this country would not function without the armies of volunteers who fill the gap between society's needs and state provision."

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