This report is based on a draft of an article for the Western Gazette published on 24 Apr 09.
A group of like-minded individuals dressed in hi-vis waistcoats and armed only with litter pickers, all supplied by SSDC, got together over 3 days in Apr to have a go at improving the general tidyness of the main approaches to Wincanton.  In three days, 38 bags of cans, bottles, crisp packets and general detritus were collected from the area around the skate park, behind Morrisons, the main on and off slips of the A303 and in Common Road.  Group coordinator, Jeremy Millward stated that everyone in the team seemed to get something positive from the experience but all were rather shocked by what they had found.  "The Town and County Councils are very quick to deal with street littering and reported fly tipping in the countryside.  But as a keen cyclist, I am all too often aware of the general build up of all types of litter apparently thrown from vehicles into the verges of the approaches to towns and villages and that is the more difficult issue to tackle.  Rather depressingly, I have read that educationalists have concluded that there will always be a minority of people, of all ages, that will litter despite fines and campaigns.  Increasingly as we head into Spring it will become a hidden problem again, out of sight out of mind, certainly for car drivers, for another 6 months".  "Many people will stop to pick up litter in their driveways or when out walking" but Jeremy believes "a more coordinated effort between Parish Councils and volunteer groups is necessary to bring the increasing litter blight in our countryside under control".   In order to try to do something practical, he has formed a litter group under the CPRE 'Stop the Drop' banner and the website can be found on  www.litteraction.org.uk/volunteer/wincanton-litter-army/.  If you are interested in finding out more, please go to the website to view future events and possibly to join up as a member.