A DOG walker was so fed up with flytippers’ flagrant disregard for keeping paths round the Staverton Marina and Widbrook tidy, she decided to clean up the piles of rubbish herself.

Megan McCrorie, of Maunders Drive, Staverton, regularly goes for walks with her dogs Gismo, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, and chihuahua Thumbelina, along this stretch but she has been angry at the increasing levels of litter left in the woods and by the marina.

After seeing nearly a dozen bits of rubbish, including tins, broken glass and bottles, gas canisters, needles and food waste last Tuesday, Ms McCrorie and her foster mum Jackie Kennerson returned on Thursday, armed with bin bags and heavy duty gloves to clear up the mess.

Now the 25-year-old has set up a Facebook group called Keep the Canal and River Litter FREE so that others can post photos of flytipping and get people to look after the marina and the wildlife.

“The amount of rubbish dumped here is just disgusting. They just don’t care about this lovely and scenic place. So I thought, ‘Enough is enough’,” she said.

“There is a lot of antisocial behaviour going on at the back of the Airsprung factory. It is dangerous for dogs to walk there with all that broken glass. Something bad could happen if people don’t take better care.

“People leave bottles there, they start fires on benches, they camp out in the woods and leave rubbish everywhere. It has got worse recently so me and Jackie went down to the supermarket, bought the stuff we needed, filled seven bags full of litter and then drove it down to the dump.

“It took a good hour to do but it looks nice again.I set up the group to raise awareness about this issue and already nearly 100 people have joined, with many saying it is a very good idea.” I want to walk my dogs in a nice environment, not a messy and dangerous one. I am not sure what the council can do but I hope they can do something.”

A Canal and River Trust spokesman said: “It’s such a shame that some people think its ok to dump their rubbish along our beautiful canal rather than take it home or place it in bin. As a charity we spend around £1million a year clearly up other people’s mess, money that could be much better spent caring for our beautiful waterways, improving habitats for wildlife and protecting our wonderful canals for local people and visitors to enjoy. “Anyone flytipping is breaking the law. If anyone has any information on this incident we would urge them to contact the police so that it can be investigated.” With help from the local community we can put an end to this irresponsible and sometime dangerous activity which damages the local environment, prevents people from being able to enjoy their local waterways and wastes money which could otherwise be spent improving canals in the area”.