Big clean-up at nature reserve

Fly tippers had tarnished the local beauty spot, dumping everything from tree stumps and plastic piping, to a roof box and a baby bath.

But no sooner had someone called the Gainsborough Standard to tell us about the mess, West Lindsey District Council’s Streetscene men were on the case.

Sadly, this wasn’t the first time our Grot Spot campaign had taken us to the nature reserve.

The area was reported to us last December and upon inspection we found shopping trolleys and all sorts of rubbish had been dumped.

Since launching our campaign with WLDC in November we have had a great response from people like YOU, telling us about tatty places in the town.

Do you know a place that suffers from constant fly tipping, graffiti or is overgrown and messy?

You could help make Gainsborough a prettier place to live by telling us about the town’s worst grot spots.

The council has pledged to help communities clean up their streets by lending clean-up equipment, taking away rubbish and using enforcement powers where necessary.

Here at the Standard we will publish before and after photos to show how working together can really make a big difference.

Council leader Coun Burt Keimach explained the campaign was part of the localism drive. “It is not just about the council taking responsibility and cleaning up the mess, “ he said.

“We want to work closely with the local community to help them take responsibility for local areas and make them places to be proud of.”

He added: “There is so much energy and enthusiasm about the town. We need to capture this and celebrate our achievements to promote Gainsborough and help it grow.”

YOU can help by reporting fly tipping and graffiti, keeping your property and land presentable, and organising your own litter picks - the council can provide bags, gloves, litter pickers and even collect waste afterwards.