More than 50 plastic warriors joined forces and collected 30 bags of rubbish and recycling in Woolbrook.

Sidmouth Herald: Sidmouth Plastic Warriors collect 30 bags of rubbish and recycling.Sidmouth Plastic Warriors collect 30 bags of rubbish and recycling. (Image: Archant)

The one-hour clean-up event took place last Saturday (February 17) and was the second of its kind to be run by the Sidmouth Plastic Warriors.

On the day, volunteers met up at the Manstone Youth Centre, in Manstone Lane, and split up into teams. Each group started from different locations and got stuck in, cleaning around the football field, skate park, in Long Park and around the youth centre itself. The plastic warriors were then invited back to the youth centre for a cup of tea and a homemade biscuit.

Denise Bickley, who started the campaign calling for Sidmouth to become a plastic-free town, said: “We all felt shocked at just how much we were able to collect within just one hour.

“The atmosphere was great fun - everyone was so happy to be doing something and the sun shone on us the entire time.

“Lidl, led by area manager Hope Suominen, cleared up their property and have requested contractors to come and sort out the brook adjoining the store.

“I think we could have carried on at the same pace for a few more hours, as there is still more rubbish out there.

“We found layers of plastic under layers of mud and needed spades as much as our litter pickers, to get right down.

“It is eye opening and scary to see just how much of it there is, covered each year by a layer of leaves, but not degrading at all.”

More plastic warrior events have been planned to take place throughout Sidmouth.

The next clean-up will be held tomorrow (Saturday) and will start at 2pm at the Sidmouth Prayer Room, Holmdale.

Volunteers will be spending two hours tackling the beach, the Ham and the town itself, if needed. Sidmouth Prayer Room will then be providing refreshments afterwards.

Denise said: “This is a short term solution to raise awareness.

“We want to shine a spotlight on our need to be forward thinking and change how we see plastic - that means all of us, from children and teenagers through to the older generation. We need to change our shopping habits, pushing the ‘refuse, reuse, recycle, reduce’ mantra.”

Find the Sidmouth Plastic Warriors on Facebook for more information.