Shropshire River Severn clean-up taking place next week

As part of the annual Love Your Magnificent Severn campaign by Shropshire Wildlife Trust, the river is getting cleaned.

Trust staff, joined by volunteers, will canoe sections of the waterway removing as much litter as they can.

On Tuesday, the team and Dilwyn Jones from the Sabrina Boat, which is based on the river in Shrewsbury, will clear a stretch between Welsh Bridge and the weir, and also the Rea.

Pete Lambert, river projects manager at the trust, said: "It's a huge problem, absolutely massive in fact. Just before Christmas, like many other people, I was watching Blue Planet and saw the problem with plastic, and had this electrifying moment where I thought this has to be our campaign."

Shropshire has 3,846-miles of waterways, including canals, streams, books and rivers.

According to Mr Lambert, 80 per cent of the plastic that ends up in the sea originates from rivers.

"There is lots of simple things people can do to help the situation," he said.

"Just say no to plastic straws, cutlery and cups if you don't need them. Plastic just gets smaller and smaller and smaller - it never goes away.

"Things like fresh water shrimp will consume it and then it enters the food chain. We can be responsible for changing the outcome of our future and little changes can make a significant difference."

Mr Lambert said he was buoyed recently by the response from traders at Shrewsbury Market Hall who said they are committed to reducing single-use plastic.

"I also visit schools and talk about the issues we're facing," he added.

"And it's wonderful that children, even at the age of seven, know what the problems are and how they can make a difference.

"We just need to keep spreading the word because aquatic life is under threat. We've all seen that picture of a turtle trapped in a plastic net and it's tragic."

He hopes the campaign will encourage people to carry out their own litter picks.

The team will also be in Ironbridge on Wednesday and Bridgnorth on Thursday.