Paddleboarders and kayakers clean up the River Avon

Anti-Litter Evesham joined forces with local paddlers to clean up a stretch of the river as part of British Canoeing's Big Paddle Clean Up.

On Saturday (June 11) the environmental enthusiasts walked and paddled from Crown Meadow in Evesham, heading along the Avon to Hampton Ferry, collecting over 15 bags of litter along the way.

Laura Van Toller, from Anti-Litter Evesham, said: “The River Avon is a real asset to Evesham and is much loved by locals and visitors to the town.

"We wanted to help to keep it clean and healthy because Evesham’s River with the surrounding parks are too lovely to litter.

"It was great to see so many volunteers taking part in the litter pick both on the land and water to stop plastics and other junk journeying along our river and reaching the sea causing damage to wildlife.”

ShePaddles ambassador Helen Russell got in on the action (Image: Helen Russell)

In a variety of craft including stand-up paddleboards and kayaks, the aim for those on the water was to remove as much litter as they could, before it travelled downstream and out towards the coast.

The volunteers removed sacks full of plastic pollution, with the usual suspects including plastic water bottles, drinks cans and fast-food packaging, along with some rather unusual items including part of a car roof rack and a VW car wheel.

The volunteers were rewarded with refreshments at Hampton Ferry thanks to Raphael’s Restaurant.

15 bags of litter were collected (Image: Helen Russell)

Helen Russell, a British Canoeing She Paddles ambassador and member of Fladbury Paddle Club, helped organise the littler pick.

She said: “River clean-ups are vital to the health of our rivers.

"A particular problem is plastic rubbish which does not biodegrade, instead it breaks down into smaller pieces which stay in our environment forever and at this stage it becomes impossible to remove.

"Fish and other creatures then mistake the plastic particles for food, eat it and so plastic is then in our food chain.

"The impact on human health is unknown.

"Birds and other wildlife can also become entangled often leading to death.”

A car wheel was among the items found in the river (Image: Helen Russell)

British Canoeing launched its Access and Environment Charter, Clear Access, Clear Waters, in 2018, championing the case for fair shared sustainable open access to inland waterways. 

As part of the campaign, British Canoeing is pledging to continue to protect and improve the health of rivers, addressing plastic in the waterways and highlighting the positive impact accessing waterways can have on the environment.