A father-of-two has enlisted the help of Dr Who to stop teenagers littering Aldbourne’s picturesque Square.

The motor engineer discovered that the littering teenagers who sit on a bench in the Square think traditional bins aren’t cool, so don’t use them.

After talking to them, Mr Beattie, 52, came up with the idea of themed bins and hit on the idea of a Tardis.

Last night Mr Beattie unveiled his creation at Aldbourne Parish Council’s monthly meeting.

Councillors congratulated him on his initiative and for working with the young people to, hopefully, clear up the litter problem in the centre of the village.

Mr Beattie, 51, who lives in Kandahar in Aldbourne with wife Wendy said the idea of meeting the young people largely responsible for the litter problem came to him one night when he was enjoying a drink with friends in The Crown.

He said: “After the carnival we cleared up the village and it was quite obvious how much litter there was around the seat in the Square where the young people like to sit.

“I decided to go and talk to them and I went up to a group on the seat and said to them that as they lived in the village why did they feel there was a need to chuck their litter on the ground?

“I asked them why they did not use a bin. They said there wasn’t one.

“When I pointed out there were two on the opposite side of the Square, they said they were too far away and, anyway, they were overflowing.”

He said he spoke at some length with the teenagers and agreed to make a bin with a difference specially for them.

“We threw some ideas about and they came up with the idea of a Tardis.

“We involved some of the youngsters in the early stages and they helped with the drawings and with the painting,” said Mr Beattie, who made the Tardis bin in his garage workshop.

If the idea caught on, he said, and the bin was well used he had ideas for more themed litter receptacles.

“One person I know has suggested the next one could be a Dalek and has agreed to pay for the parts,” Mr Beattie said.

The Tardis even has a light on top like Dr Who’s... a solar-powered garden light.