Paulton resident, Grant Johnson, has appealed for people to stop dumping rubbish within our community.

He says: “On my journey home from work last week, I was absolutely disgusted to see a large amount of rubbish left lying on the side of the lane along Paulto’ Hill. It wasn’t too long ago that The Journal ran a piece on a group of us, including myself, which took the time one sunny Sunday afternoon, to litter pick the entire road.

“I took it upon myself to go home, get a pair of gloves and a couple of bin bags in order to pick it up. It wasn’t until I got up close, that I realised just how much mess was actually there! I tried my best to pick up as much as possible until there was only some chipboard panels left, which unfortunately wouldn’t fit in my car.

“It was a funny moment when a very concerned-looking lady in a 4x4 came past me as I was putting the chipboard back against the bank and thought I was the fly tipper! I simply said to her, pointing at my boot, that I couldn’t fit the chipboard in the back of my Fiat 500 and I certainly was not the culprit.

“At first, I was annoyed at being accused of fly tipping, but then I realised that this lady was just concerned, and wasn’t about to drive past without saying anything to me. I think she was looking forward to giving me a good telling off, and who could blame her?

“Unfortunately for me, the rubbish had to spend the night in my car, because the tip had closed for the day, but it was no trouble to drop it off the next day. It is shocking that with all the awareness of the harm this does to the environment and wildlife that it is still so prevalent in our community.

“I really think B&NES Council should be driving a campaign to get people picking up litter when they see it; every small piece can help save our planet! We keep seeing in the media that so many young people are standing up and getting involved with protecting our environment. I might not be the youngest, but I’m certainly going to do my bit whenever I can.”

Anyone can report fly tipping using the following number: 01225 39 40 41.