Brownie's carnival celebration turns to campaign to rid Skegness of rubbish

Sofia Holland. a nine-year-old Ingoldmells Academy pupil, found a large bag and filled it – and was so pleased with the result she went back with her family later and did more.

In the evening, they collected two more bags of rubbish, including towels, blankets, plastic bottles and general rubbish.

And now she is planning to write to the council to tell the authority they need more bins – as well as launching a poster campaign to urge people to pick up their rubbish.

Mum Jayne said she was incredibly proud of Sofia.

“We were on the 2nd Skegness Brownies float in the carnival with her friends enjoying people watching having a lovely day,” said Jayne.

“The float was an absolute credit to Skegness Brownies and we decided to celebrate later in the afternoon.

“We went to get an ice cream and have a paddle in the sea as family had come to visit and ended up litter picking with a bag we found on the beach.

"This bag was the size of a bin bag and had just been left so we picked it up and started litter picking.

“Sofia was so chuffed with herself for filling up the bag she later asked her dad if she could take our dog for a walk, which she never wants to do, and can take some bags and do some more litter picking.

"I am so very proud of her.”

Sofia joined 2nd Skegness Brownies in September last year ad already has a few brownie badges – The Queens Jubilee 2022 Badge, Mother’s Day, Chinese New Year, Brownies Camp 2021 and the Halloween Badge, all of which involving completing lots of different tasks, including supporting within the community.

“When we were at the beach the first time she said, ‘oh no, look at all this rubbish, that's not good for the animals in the sea or the environment,’” recalled Jayne.

" We've been to Skegness Aquarium a lot and the seal sanctuary and we always read about what harm it can cause the animals.

"Sofia said it made her feel sad. So she said. ‘come on let's pick some of the rubbish up’.

“Her dad, Ray, has often commented about how much rubbish there has been on the beach when he returns from walking our dog, Bella, so she’s heard us talking about it quite a bit.

"So she said, ‘when you walk Bella, dad, I want to come and we can pick some more up?”

Now Sofia plans to take it further and write to East Lindsey District |Council.

" I am going to write to the council and say they need more bins and make posters so people pick up their rubbish,” she told our newspaper. “I don’t understand why people leave it here.”

Her Dad often comes home from the dog walk saying about how much litter there is so she's heard talking about it quite a bit.