One man and his dog have set off on litter-picking journey today (1 February), that will take in a 7,000 mile walk around the entire coast of Britain.
Wayne Dixon, 44, from Lowergate, Clitheroe, who is being accompanied by his Northern Inuit dog Koda, expects the journey to take around a year to complete.
Dixon is planning on not only litter picking as he goes, but also holding litter picking events at beaches, villages and in towns and cities. The first litter picking clean-up took place this morning at the starting point, Knott-end-on-Sea, Lancashire.
At the event, Dixon asked people to join him on the first three miles of his trek, along the sea front at Knott end. All litter collected is going to be recorded, so he will know how many items have been picked up during the year.
Dixon says the walk is fulfilling a lifelong ambition by walking around the Britain coast, inspired not only by Keep Britain Tidy and the Clean for The Queen campaign, but also walking in memory of his late father, John, who passed away in 2012.
Perfect opportunity to encourage litter-picks
Talking before setting off on his walk, Dixon said: “I have always been concerned about Britain’s litter issue, and whilst training for my walk, I noticed quite a lot of litter, especially in beautiful places, so I started to pick the litter up.
“I thought it would really frustrate me if I were to come across a lot of litter on my walk, so I came up with the idea of litter-picking along the way.
“I’m using this personal adventure to do my part in cleaning up the country and promoting Keep Britain Tidy with the hope of empowering others not to drop litter and to add litter picking in their daily routine and lead by example.
"Hopefully along the way I can encourage people to take part in litter picks and make a difference. It's something I've wanted to do for some time and this seemed like the perfect opportunity."
Dixon is also raising money for the mental health charity Mind and the Northern Inuit Dog Rescue Society.
To keep up to date with Wayne Dixon’s journey you can follow on social media, or to donate you can visit his GoFundMe page.
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