CAMPAIGN: Doncaster clean teams rally round to rid the rubbish

The drive to clear up the borough has seen community groups take to the streets, parks and fields in recent days to do their bit and help make Doncaster a nicer place to live.

The latest community-led environment group to spring up in Doncaster is the Hexthorpe ‘Green Fingers’ group, a collection of friends from the village that have decided to get their gardening gloves on for the good of the place they live.

Eileen Parsons and her small group of friends from Hexthorpe go for walks around the town every week, and have previously pulled up the odd weed as they walk through the local park.

The occasional chat with some council officers got Eileen to thinking, that perhaps they could make a difference if they gave up some of their time to doing more gardening work in the park.

Now, the group has got to work putting in new plants, pulling up weeds and generally tidying the area.

Eileen said: “My friends and I go for a walk together every Thursday morning, and we always start in the park.

“One day we got to thinking about how beautiful our park is, and we thought it would be great to get together and make it look even nicer. “It’s been great to do this as a group, we have felt like we’ve really achieved something to benefit the community, and had a nice time doing it to.”

A recent action day at one of Doncaster’s beauty spots saw volunteers and council workers collect over a tonne of litter and rubbish.

The day, which took place recently at Highfield Lakes, helped to protect the natural environment while also giving the council evidence to try and track down the culprits.

Councillor Chris McGuinness, cabinet member for communities, the voluntary sector and environment, said: “I would like to thank everyone who came and helped us in Highfield Lakes – what a fantastic effort to collect over a tonne of rubbish.

“We will do everything we can to investigate these crimes and catch the culprits.”

* Are you and your friends doing your bit to tackle the problem of rubbish in Doncaster? Then why not let us know? Email [email protected]

What do you think?

Our readers have been contacting us in their dozens, highlighting particular grot-spots around the town which they would like to see cleaning up.

Here are some of the comments we received this week.

Mr Lionel Overson of Childers Street, Hyde Park, said: “I have lived in Hyde Park for 72 years and have never been so disgusted in what I am seeing around my area.

“I try in my backings to help with the bins but find it hard making people understand ‘you don’t throw rubbish out’ - we have rat and maggots on a regular basis.”

Town resident Dave Shaw said: “A few weeks ago I had occasion to report the build up of rubbish in the alley to the rear of Royal Avenue and Highfield Road.

“I was told that it would take up to five days to clear it.

“The rubbish was removed last week but now it’s just as bad again.

“I’ve again reported the matter, but I’m not expecting it to be removed anytime. It’s a mess and a fire hazard, especially at this time of year.”