The water in Grimsby’s Riverhead is set to look better than ever thanks to the help of the Canoe River Cleaner.
Spending almost five years of his life cleaning the waterways around the borough, James Elliott has no intention of stopping.
Focusing on the water around Grimsby’s Riverhead, he will be doing his bit to clean the town centre regularly thanks to his partnership with the Council. This part of the River Freshney is looked after by the Council with the rest of the river under the care of the Environment Agency.
Over the past year, he has been organising monthly community litter picks and making visits to schools across the borough to teach the younger generation why our waterways are so important.
Now, he’s embarking on his latest mission.
Pulling out plastic bottles, bags and the odd traffic bollard – he’s dedicated to keeping the river in Grimsby town centre safe for wildlife and making it look more appealing to residents and visitors.
“It’s all about making the area look better to the public, but also about making it safer for the wildlife that call it home,” he said.
“This is where the river meets the town centre so it’s such an important stretch of water. With everything that’s going on from a regeneration perspective, there will be plenty more people coming to this area and we need to make sure we can celebrate our river when people are here.”
For James, the message is a simple but important one. “If you want to look after the river and the environment around us then pop the litter in the bin – we need to love and respect it.
“Remember how lucky we are to have this river running right through the centre of town and we should all do our bit to get some civic pride in the town and make the best of what we have around us.”
Councillor Bob Callison, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Tourism and Culture, said: “James does some excellent work around the borough, keeping both water and land as clean as he possibly can.
“Getting someone to regularly clean the Riverhead is a huge positive and will no doubt be an obvious benefit to the town centre.”
He added: “However, people should also remember that littering is an offence and you can receive a fine if caught doing so. It’s everyone’s responsibility to look after the place we live and, as James said, instil some civic pride across North East Lincolnshire.”
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