Together #LitterHeroes have given the great outdoors a Great British Spring Clean
THAT'S A WRAP!
This year, the Great British Spring Clean returned for its seventh year, and our message was simple; join our #BigBagChallenge and pledge to pick up as much litter as you can during the campaign.
#LitterHeroes responded in droves, and between 25 March and 10 April pledged to pick a massive 449,406 bags. That's 449,406 bags removed from our streets, our countryside, and our waterways.
Every bag of litter removed from the environment makes a huge difference - to the environment, to our communities, and to the wildlife that makes the great outdoors their home.
WE DID IT!
From weird and wonderful finds, to adorable pictures of litter-picking pets, we've loved keeping up with all your litter-picking adventures across social media.
We've put together a video of some of our highlights from this year's campaign. What has been your highlight? Let us know using the #GBSpringClean hashtag, and tag us in on social media at @KeepBritainTidy.
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE!
A corked bottle containing messages from two teenage girls advertising for boyfriends in 1966 was found by stunned members of the Scunthorpe Litter Pickers, working with the Barton RiverCare group on the Humber Estuary, during their Great British Spring Clean event on Saturday!
The messages were dropped in river by Jennifer Coleman and Janet Blankley in 1966 - they are now 71!
Tracey Marshall and her daughter Charlotte, from Scunthorpe Litter Pickers, found the bottle which nearly ended up in a rubbish bag.
Charlotte spotted the cork on the bottle and on closer inspection they saw paper inside, which turned out to be two rolled up messages and a hand-drawn picture.
Ironically the bottle was found fairly close to where the girls dropped it... but the story itself has travelled all over the world - a reminder that things we leave in the natural environment will stay there for a long time unless we remove them!
