Resident determined to tackle litter problem (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Resident determined to tackle litter problem

A CHANCE meeting with a visitor from London has inspired a Salisbury dog walker to investigate ways that the problem of louts littering city parks with bottles and fast-food wrappers can be tackled.

Sarah Bartlett, of Harcourt Terrace, has been a regular walker in Elizabeth Gardens for 12 years.

She said: "I go out every morning and it is always worst on a Sunday - perhaps because there is no one available to clear it up."

Mrs Bartlett was spurred into action by the Londoner, who stopped her to ask whether the state of the park was normal for Salisbury.

She said: "I had to tell him, yes, it was.

"He said he didn't realise that Salisbury was like that.

"We got chatting and I thought to myself that it really isn't acceptable."

The walk grew even more enlightening for Mrs Bartlett, who next came across some grandparents with their grandchildren.

She said: "They reached the children's play area, saw broken bottles and realised they couldn't take the children in there.

"It seems all the worse because Elizabeth Gardens is a place people go to enjoy the beauty of nature, yet a handful of braindead kids are able to spoil it for everyone.

"I have no objection to young people meeting there, as long as they take their rubbish home with them."

Mrs Bartlett has decided to pursue the issue through the district council and has said she will co-ordinate a petition, if necessary, to raise awareness.

She said: "It is hard to know what the solution is.

"Even banning alcohol seems hard on the people who might just want to have a civilised picnic and a bottle of wine."

Ward district councillor Simon Howarth said: "Litter in the parks is a big problem, but it is careless rather than malicious.

"Bottles are hardly ever broken and the teenagers who leave them are not vandals.

"In a way, there is value in knowing where our young people are gathering and what they are up to.

"Their safety has to be a consideration, as well as that of park users.

"The council goes around early and picks up the litter every day, except Sunday.

"My advice to parents is to be aware that there might be glass around and make sure, if their children are paddling or playing, that they are wearing shoes."

Councillors have recently given the go-ahead to moves to make Elizabeth Gardens part of the city's no-alcohol zone, at which point a range of enforcement measures will become open to it.