Community buys bike for litter picker after receiving nearly £400 in donations
Community spirit is alive and well in one north Shropshire town as residents banded together to buy a volunteer litter picker a brand new bike.
Carl Clutton has been using his free time to litter pick in Wem for years, and the community wanted to do something to say thank you after all his hard work.
Sue Holliday, Tracy Bowers-Gourley and Carol Roberts got their heads together and came up with a collection tin in Carol's shop that people could easily leave donations in. They managed to raise £391 and contacted Halfords in Meole Brace, Shrewsbury for help.
Sue said the community of Wem really look out for Carl, who is 36, and they wanted to show their appreciation for his efforts.
"It all started really due to a Facebook response to his litter picking that people wanted to give money," she explained. "Tracy was the one who thought about having a collection tin and Carol works in the shop by the corner where the collection tin was.
"We were going to carry on until after lockdown but we did not know what the future holds really. So we said lets count it up and go from there. We counted £391 that had been donated and I then contacted Halfords in Meole Brace, Shrewsbury, who were amazing.
"A big thank you to them because we rang up with a list and it was not easy sourcing a bike because there seems to be none in the county anywhere at the moment. They added a few extra accessories as well which was nice. So we got him the bike, a helmet with lights on the back, mud guards, lights and he even got some gloves."
Sue said that Carl was really happy to receive his bike and she hoped it put a smile on his face after weeks of lockdown and not being able to litter pick for safety reasons.
"He is very happy I think," she added. "It has been a bit hard for Carl because he is used to socialising when he is litter picking and is always chatting to people.
"He has had weeks inside because his mum wanted to keep him safe. He is in a good place in Wem – people have really taken Carl to their hearts here. So this was a way of thanking him because he does such a good job and is such a good lad."
Carl said he has been loving getting out on his new bike and is using it everyday.
He said: "It's great I think it's amazing. I love my new bike it is wonderful, really beautiful. I enjoy biking and I would like to say thank you to everyone who donated. I will be litter picking again when coronavirus is gone and it is safe, and anyone is welcome to join me."
