Fed up of seeing rubbish littered all over verges, pavements and in hedgerows on her lockdown walks, local resident, Laura Jardine, decided that she would use her daily exercise positively and is inspiring others to do the same.

Laura posted a message on social forums to say she planned to do something about it and asked others if they would safely join her.

Laura also contacted the Midsomer Norton and Radstock Area Zero Waste Group via Facebook that she helped to set up – a

resource being used to help local residents share advice and tips on living sustainably, which now has over a thousand members.

She says: “I had quite a lot of interest and through the Zero Waste page, one of our other admin members, who works for the Council, gave me the information of who to contact to borrow some grabbers, bags and fluorescent tabards. They were picked up and we decided to make a start on Monday.

“We plan to go back out again on Friday, following Government guidelines, and tackle the non-pavement side of Somervale Road (from the Greenway so that we are not in the road) and any other areas that anyone points out that need to be cleaned up. We are keen to make this a regular event.

“Most of us are on furlough, so we have plenty of time on our hands at the moment and we all share the same passion about keeping our area clean and tidy, the planet, and the value of the area that we live in.

“I have put up a post on the Zero Waste Facebook page and a group chat on Facebook Messenger to co-ordinate everyone who wants to join us.

“However, if anyone wants to get involved who is not on Facebook, they can email me at: [email protected]”