Six sacks of rubbish, including an old car battery were cleared out of the river at Godmanchester on Wednesday 26th March.

The ‘clean up’ was organised by the streetscene and countryside teams at Huntingdonshire District Council, with help from the Environment Agency and volunteers from Hinchingbrooke Country Park.

Rubbish including a car battery, bubble wrap, some rubbish bins and two car wheels were found in the river.  The Environment Agency arrived by boat to reach debris that couldn’t be collected from the riverbank.

Sonia Hansen, Streetscene Manager for Huntingdonshire District Council said ‘We are really pleased with the team effort that has resulted in this cleaner stretch of river. The rubbish that we found would have had a devastating effect on the river’s wildlife. For example, a car battery leaking acid could kill the fish and birds, and plastic bubble wrap could cause the birds to get trapped. We had to leave some rubbish behind, as it was too close to a nesting swan that we didn’t want to disturb.’

The clean up was organised to help Godmanchester Town Council in the run up to their Anglia in Bloom preparations and is part of an ongoing campaign to promote river clean-ups to the Huntingdonshire community. Huntingdonshire District Council is looking for community groups to come forward and take ownership for cleaning a stretch of river in their district. The council will provide guidance and all the necessary equipment, enabling them to safely collect and dispose of any rubbish afterwards.

Sonia Hansen continued ‘We are very keen that groups and volunteers come forward to help us to keep our river clean. We want to protect the River Great Ouse and its wildlife, which is a great asset to the district.’
 Any groups or volunteers interested in helping should contact Sonia Hansen at Huntingdonshire District Council on 01480 388630.