Boy, 12, goes litter picking 'to make Yaxley a better place'
"But another bought me a portion of chips and a drink because they were pleased - I just want to make Yaxley a better place."
Mum Ann Rowell, 46, said the inspiration for the weekly litter pick came on a family dog walk one evening a couple of months ago. "It was really bad in one area and he was adamant he was going home and getting his equipment," she said. "I said, 'no we need to get ready for school the next morning', but he got it in his head that's what he was going to do."
Ben has taken part in community litter picks since he was a Beaver aged five and he uses parish council-supplied equipment. His goal with his solo efforts is to reach a day when he does not fill the bin bag. "I want to see more people litter picking, I want to see less people dropping litter, I want to see my village and villages over the country with cleaner environments," he said."And that includes the entire world, I want everywhere to be cleaner because then the environment won't go downhill."
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