Seaside banks have had a good tidy up as Labour Councillors rallied the community to conduct their very own Big Clean.

The litter pick was organised by Labour Councillors Helen Wall, Colin Thomson and Frank Cassidy who were determined to smarten up the grassy banks along the side of Walney Channel. 

The team invited members of the public to join them and began their mission opposite the King Alfred pub on South Walney on Friday May 6.

Cllr Cassidy's concern for the area was piqued when he received a number of complaints from local Walney residents alerting him to the sorry state of the steep banks that taper down to the water's edge. He said:  “We are grateful to south Walney residents for drawing our attention to the state of the banking and the concrete steps. We knew there was some litter, but we had no idea things were quite so bad."

The was a great turnout from Barrow Borough Council and some extra volunteers, including members of the independent research facility Art Gene. Councillor Alec Proffitt even brought his young son Dylan along to teach him the importance of keeping the community clean.

Mr Cassidy and the Streetcare team at Barrow Borough Council have always worked closely with the Evening Mail's Big Clean campaign and were pleased to join in this year and help to improve the Furness peninsula. 

Mr Cassidy said: “It was great to see so many Labour councillors rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck in and we are obliged to Maddi Nicholson and Stuart Bastik from Art Gene for also joining us. 

“We were also pleased to get involved with the North-West Evening Mail who supplied the litter-picking equipment along with our Streetcare team here at Barrow Borough Council. The shovels came in very handy."

The first Walney Big Clean of the year was a great success and the councillors and volunteers were fearless as they scrabbled up and down the steep banks, plunging in to clumps of brambles to retrieve bottles and crisp packets. They even found a few discarded pint glasses from the local pub. Mr Cassidy said:

“It will take a while to clean up the whole area, because some of the rubbish is tangled in the undergrowth and hard to reach, but we have made a good start and we will be back again shortly.”

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