In spite of a chilly start, an estimated 140 volunteer litter pickers, over a third of whom were children, turned-out for Hitchin Forum's Big Spring-Clean on Sunday 22^nd March. 17 areas in the town were cleared including Windmill Hill, Pinehill field and Butts Close. Early estimates are that about 100 bags of litter were collected in total, with some volunteers taking additional recycling home to add to their grey and blue bins.

The event saw the return of former Hitchin resident, Chris Hall, who has recently moved to Wisbech, but finds it hard to stay away. Chris comes armed with a range of exotic litter pickers, one of which is 10 ft long, which he used to good effect on King George's Playing Field to extract long term rubbish from hedgerows and small trees. His range of litter pickers include ones which could probably be used by children as young as 3. Volunteers continue to be shocked to find items that could be seriously damaging to the environment unless recycled responsibly (a car battery) or could yield useful materials (a television). An interesting find, which demonstrates the persistence of packaging in the environment was a Walkers crisp packet from 1992.

On behalf of the Forum, and the town, a big 'thank you' again goes to our wonderful volunteers, and local groups from Holy Saviour Guides for their work on the Dell, the 3rd Hitchin Cubs on Ransom's Recreation Ground and members of Hitchin Tennis Club on Bancroft. Thanks too to Town Centre Manager, Danny Pearson, his front of house staff and team of Rangers who help to distribute the equipment and provide cheerful encouragement. North Hertfordshire Council contractors dealt with the extra material collected.

If you would like to take part in the Forum's autumn event in October, please email [email protected] – the date will be announced soon.