Haywards Heath Beaver organises litter pick in Victoria Park with help from town council

Jake Evans, seven, was so disappointed he could not make the Christmas Litter Pick that he sought out help from councillor Sandy Ellis to set up his own.

“It was very dirty in the park when we first arrived and it looks like the park is being used as a bin,” said Jake.

“I feel much better now that the park is nice and clean again.”

As a Beaver from the 5th Haywards Heath (St Paul’s) Scout Group, Jake is aware that litter can have a big impact on local communities.

He joined forces with his family, Haywards Heath town councillors and the vice chairman of West Sussex County Council to brave the freezing weather.

Councillor Sandy Ellis, chair of Haywards Heath In Bloom, said: “We had such a great morning collecting litter in the park with Jake and his lovely family.”

“Sadly the variety of discarded litter ranged from odd socks to lateral flow tests and, even more worryingly, a lot of broken glass, but with Jake and his family’s help, together with my fellow Councillors, we left the park nice and clean once more,” she said.

“It is such a shame that people litter and spoil our beautiful parks when there are ample bins provided,” she added.

“Thank you so much to Jake for helping to clean up the environment for all park users – you are an inspiration and a true litter picking hero.”

Jake now wants to get together with more of his friends and Beavers and arrange more litter picks.

He said he wishes people would use the bins provided because he does the junior park run every Sunday morning.