We are a friendly group of people of all ages who like to see our local areas clear of litter. We meet every second Sunday for a 2 hour pick follow...
We are a friendly group of people of all ages who like to see our local areas clear of litter. We meet every second Sunday for a 2 hour pick followed by tea & cakes and a social chat. If you'd like to come out to try us please get in touch.
Gone Fishing..🎣. Did not expect a little stream at the bottom of the embankment at Willowfield. The A127 goes by near this. But I enjoyed thinking if a frog 🐸 might love this water now litter free🙂.
In the meantime Diane Hurley had found Ian in the wood on the opposite side of the road in Willowfield. They picked 4 sacks and found a tyre. They did not see the Basildon Council truck stop and load their sacks. I had finished my fishing 🎣 and was tying up 3 sacks filled and waved the truck over so 7 sacks went immediately. This made my day 🙂.
We all carried on picking..
Final stats
16 litter sacks plus 7 collected = 23 purple litter sacks filled
A plastic roof of something
Guttering / pipes / a tyre
A litter pick (not ours)
I bagged up a campsite of damp sheet / duvet / pillow laid over a large piece of carpet. Only got carpet out by dragging it up the embankment. It then rolled onto a purple sack ✅️
Recycled♻️: 10 glass bottles, 18 plastic bottles, 32 drinks cans and 2 vapes.
Fabulous womble work by everyone today - dream team. Thank you so much 🙂🐿
23 bags collected
3 pickers
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01 March 2026
Today turned into a bit of a family affair… 😊
A big welcome and thank you to Sophie, her mum Yve and her 7-year-old son Teddy, who joined us for their very first litter pick today. We picked The Paddocks open space while regular Wombles — Diane Hurley, Ian Cranstone, Kathy Carpenter and Matthew Forbes — tackled Pound Lane, St Nicholas Lane and Church Hill.
In total, we collected 23 bags of litter weighing around 95kg. It may not sound huge, but much of it was hard-fought — much of it prised from bushes & hedgerows where it had been hidden for far too long.
Along the way we:
♻️ Recycled around 60 aluminium cans and 30 plastic bottles
🚫 Removed 28 nitrous oxide cylinders from the bushes
🗑️ Cleared approximately 95kg of loose dumped rubbish, including a Euro pallet, water butt, piles of wood, artificial Christmas trees, bike tyres, car tyres, bulky plastic and metal
🛒 Reported a dumped Asda trolley
All in all, a really positive pick — and especially lovely to see young Teddy getting stuck in and enjoying making a difference. 🌱
We also reported a commercial fly-tip in the trees at the western end of the park.
On the way home, we stopped at Laindon Community Centre for well-earned hot drinks and cake, where we met Tommy. He lives in Pound Lane and was delighted to hear we’d picked in his area and very kindly donated £20 to cover our refreshments.
Thank you, Tommy! 👏
23 bags collected
7 pickers
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26 February 2026
Drum roll ... 🥁 (no we did not find a drum although a metal swing bin came close😮). Today mini team Steeple View passed 200 litter sacks filled since 3 December 2025 😃. WOW 😍
Special thanks go to Karen Lee Diane Hurley Stella Ian and Keith for being part of the Winter BiG Clean Up of Steeple View which continues..
Hornbeam Way today gave us
15 purple litter sacks filled
2 nitrous oxide canisters
Metal shopping basket
Metal swing bin
Washing up bowl and a saucepan
Traffic cone
Metal / wood skirting boards / plastic guttering
Recycled♻️: 62 glass bottles, 8 plastic bottles, 18 drinks cans, 3 vapes
😃🐿
15 bags collected
5 pickers
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23 February 2026
GO Wombles! 😃💚✅️
Where were we?
Hornbeam Way woodland verge
What was there?🤔
11 purple litter sacks filled
6 nitrous oxide canisters
4 large empty plastic containers
Signage / Metal Stand / Tyre
Childs bike and childs scooter
STOP littering! 🚫🙄
Thank you Ian for starring🌟in both the photos and the pick.
Diane Hurley did an amazing job bagging up litter and taking our finds to the collection spot. Thank you💚.
Recycled♻️: 62 glass bottles, 23 plastic bottles, 32 drinks cans and 7 vapes
😃🐿
11 bags collected
3 pickers
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20 February 2026
Noak Hill Road a small woodland verge near the bus stop and yellow crossing bollards (opposite Royston Avenue).
A solo picking wombling adventure😮 - what was there?
7 purple litter sacks filled
2 nitrous oxide canisters
Guttering pipe
Metal stake
A broom🧹
Plants in garden pots and empty plant pots🪴
Wooden fencing
Bricks, concrete post pieces, rubble and paving slabs
A garden gnome with handycart (oh mean wheelbarrow!) 😁
Recycled♻️ 4 glass bottles, 8 drinks cans and 3 plastic bottles
The garden gnome (it was longways upsidedown so how did I find it under a tree🤔) made me laugh 🤣 loads and a very handsome boy robin flew around landing on branches of the trees ❤️🙂
7 bags collected
1 picker
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17 February 2026
It is New Moon🌛 🐎 and time to go in the wood today.
Thank you Diane Hurley for joining me at Oakley Path and Miles Gray Road.
What was there?
6 purple litter sacks filled
1 black swivel office chair
1 Asda trolley (it became our recycling cart)
A hose
Signage
A Snoopy tote bag and a black rucksack
A saucepan, a dish and a frying pan (well it is Pancake Day 🍳😃)
Recycled♻️: 75 glass bottles, 81 drinks cans, 14 plastic bottles and 6 vapes
😃
6 bags collected
2 pickers
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15 February 2026
Cold, wet… but unstoppable! 💪🌿
On our last litter pick along Church Hill (from St Nicholas Church to Laindon Park School) we cleared huge amounts of rubbish from the paths and verges — and even more that had been dumped or blown into the woods next to or opposite the church. But we simply ran out of time to tackle the mountain still hidden deep in the trees…
So today — despite the insidious cold rain — we went back to finish the job! 👏
A massive thank you to Amanda King, Amy & Clark Manning, Ian Cranstone and Kathy Carpenter who battled the elements to return to Church Hill with Mark Burr, Tom & Drew Garrity (first-time pickers — welcome! 🙌) and Tracey Breach.
🗑️ The results? Incredible.
• 18 bags of litter (around 72kg!)
• 3 N²O cylinders
• Loose rubbish weighing approx. 55kg
• 2 abandoned trolleys reported
• And unbelievably… a full-size fridge dumped deep in the woods by some #dontbeatosser 😡
At the same time, Paul Keegan, Paul Reeves, Lloyd Carter and new members Nicole Rogers, Sammi Gieldman, her children Lily & Jack, Ricci Jones, her daughter Kaitlin and Amanda Bagshaw stepped up to support the Gloucester Park Community Group with their first of many regular picks throughout 2026.
🌳 Their haul:
• 15 bags of rubbish (around 60kg)
• 2 full recycling bags containing around 200 aluminium cans & plastic bottles ♻️
Despite the cold, the youngsters were absolute stars ⭐ and a couple of hot chocolates at the Sporting Village afterwards soon warmed everyone up — and if Lily has anything to do with it… “they will be back!” 😊
Picking in the cold & rain 🌧️☔️ isn’t everyone’s idea of a relaxing Sunday so a big thank you to every volunteer who gave up their time today, whether in the park or in the woods. Together you are making a real difference to our community.
If you’d like to get involved next time, come and join us — many hands really do make light work 💚
18 bags collected
10 pickers
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09 February 2026
Not quite red sacks for Valentines Day ❤️ but squirrel 🐿 and fox 🦊 will LoVe their clean wooded glade now.
Where were we?
A wooded glade at the end of Steeple View Park at the bottom of a steep embankment in Hornbeam Way
What was there?
21 purple litter sacks filled
1 nitrous oxide canister
A metal table
A metal ironing board
Broken pallets and wood
A sleeping bag in a black sack
♻️Recycled: 25 glass bottles, 1 vape, 24 plastic bottles and 18 drinks cans
There were lots of very old plastic carrier bags in the earth today 😮
Ian was simply a star 🌟 getting the sacks and unbagged items up the steep embankment onto the pavement for collection 🚛
Valentines Day chocolates 🍫 to Diane Hurley today as well.
Thank you both for joining me 😃
21 bags collected
3 pickers
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02 February 2026
How to follow on from the Laindon Wombles huge group pick yesterday🤔.. how about.. this!
Where were we? Willowfield embankment.
What was there?
22 purple litter sacks filled
2 nitrous oxide canisters
1 hub cap
Why so much litter?
Site of very old littering of vodka bottles - we picked at least 80-100 muddy bottles 😮
A fly-tipped black sack of household waste
An orange plastic light
A mug (did not fancy a cup of tea 🫖 out of it😒)
Broken ear defenders🎧
15 glass bottles and 5 drinks cans recycled♻️
Ian was simply Superman 🦺 lifting the purple sacks out onto the pavement for collection.
A huge Thank You to both Ian and Diane for a pick for us all to remember 😃
22 bags collected
3 pickers
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01 February 2026
Today the Laindon Wombles tackled Church Hill, Laindon and a nearby litter hotspot in Pound Lane. Thank you Amanda King, Diane Hurley, Ian Cranstone, Kathy Carpenter, Linda Mander, Muriel Cornwell, Sally Rosher and Vic Cornell.
In all we collected 43 bags of rubbish weighing about 210kg. As well as about 250kg of loose wood, metal, plastic, a roll of carpet, a double bed mattress and a plastic hot tub! We also recycled 202 aluminium cans, 69 plastic bottles and 23 glass bottles.
I will never understand the mentality of fly-tippers and why they’re happy to spoil the environment by ‘hiding’ their trash in the woods and hedgerows where it’s harder for those who care enough to clear it to get to it!!
43 bags collected
8 pickers
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29 January 2026
Very well done👏 to Ian and Keith today for venturing put in the cold along High Road North (Macdonalds) High Road (to William Hill) Willowfield and Osier Drive
9 litter sacks collected
1 nitrous oxide canister
Some plastic parts from a car
9 bags collected
3 pickers
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26 January 2026
A worthwhile womble start to the week - with Diane Hurley and Iain.
Where were we?
Osier Drive High Road North Willowfield (a littered embankment) Steeple View park wood . There was a mess of litter again in the space of a week 🙄.
What was there?
10 purple litter sacks filled
1 nitrous oxide canister
Plastic container, drainpipe, long coil of wire
A dumped white mattress
3 Asda shopping trolleys 🛒 (have e-mailed Collex to remove them)
Diane so kindly dropped off at Barleylands recycling centre ♻️ 75 plastic bottles 110 drinks cans 21 glass bottles (I recycled 8 glass bottles separately) 2 vapes and 2 batteries.
A huge Thank You to Diane and Iain for joining me today 😃
🐿
10 bags collected
3 pickers
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24 January 2026
A colourful (Super!)Trolley (has anyone else seen the Amnesia Whip named nitrous oxide canisters🤔or is it just me!)
Where was I?
Oakley Path near Miles Gray Road
What was there?
2 flytipped white sacks of household waste, a bath towel, a glass plate
2 long sleeved tops
A debit card
17 nitrous oxide canisters and their cardboard boxes 😮
Recycled ♻️ 7 drinks cans 7 plastic bottles and 9 glass bottles
😃🐿
6 bags collected
1 picker
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20 January 2026
Wine anyone 🍷...
Finds today.. a metal wine rack (Karen) at least 40 wine bottles and two wine glasses (Linda) 😃
The party goers (oops mean wombles) also included Iain and Keith
Where were we? Willowfield Hornbeam Way High Road North Wash Road West and woodlandnear childrens playground in Steeple View park.
What was there?
23 purple litter sacks filled
4 nitrous oxide canisters
Finds by Karen Lee childs scooter childs bike pair of mens socks cash tray from a till
Finds by Linda a bathroom sink a childs plastic chair a foot spa🤔 a baseball cap 🧢 reading glasses 👓
Sorry no recycling ♻️ today as the litter was years old. The woodland had tiny shoots so maybe snowdrops can now grow.
Fantastic clean-up today by everyone😃
23 bags collected
2 pickers
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19 January 2026
Denise Mattey joined me this morning to pick Station Approach and the footpath to Tattenham Rd. We retrieved some carrier bags and cans thrown deep in thick brambles.
6 bags of litter collected
16 cans saved for recycling
One N20 cannister
Doormat
Lots of lino
Numerous plastic meat trays
Firepit lid
Bag of leaflets (never delivered)
Man's underpants
A long sock
6 bags collected
2 pickers
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18 January 2026
A group pick in Victoria Park and the surrounding streets.
34 bags of litter and five bags of aluminium cans (about 500 cans) that were recycled as were 50 glass bottles. Also at least 200kg of loose metal, plastic and wood.
39 bags collected
12 pickers
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16 January 2026
"If you go down to the woods today".. you'd better not go alone.. Thank you Ian for his biggest litter pick so far👏 with me today
Where were we?
Steeple View park and woodland.
What was there?
11 purple litter sacks
1 white sack recycling ♻️ of 24 plastic bottles and 34 drinks cans
A very large piece of wood, wooden low fencing and wood from cupboard door
Childs scooter 🛴
Large black plastic nozzle from industrial hoover
Long metal pipes
Shopping basket
A teddy bear 🐻 on his picnic
12 bags collected
2 pickers
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06 January 2026
A Winter Womble in snow ❄️. Wearing my cosiest hood met Diane Hurley Ian and his cousin (an honorary Womble) in Steeple View. Luckily it stopped snowing after 20 minutes. Dianes Team picked High Road North both sides of Willowfield and Osier Drive filling
8 purple litter sacks
1 golf club⛳️
4 vapes 25 glass bottles and 75 plastic bottles/drinks cans recycled♻️
2 nitrous oxide canisters
Meanwhile I went to Wash Road West adjacent to Doggy Field and into the layby opposite Blacksmith Forge in Dunton Road. Got into the hedgerow much to surprise of two passers by who were very grateful 🙂 and offered me a coffee☕️. This small area filled
3 purple litter sacks
1 tyre
6 plastic bottles and 25 drinks cans recycled ♻️
16 nitrous oxide canisters. Had to get Supertrolley from car to move them!
A BiG thank you to everyone in Team Womble today 🙂
8 bags collected
2 pickers
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04 January 2026
If it wasn’t for the fact our first pick of the year was in sub-zero temperatures I’d say Amanda, Diane, Jean, Kathy, Matthew, Sally, Stella, Vic & I had a fairly gentle start to 2026, with a pick along Durham Road and Mandeville Way that netted 21 bags of rubbish weighing about 94kg.
Members Gill & Peter Norledge were out separately concentrating on Helmores & Tillingham Green area and collected a further 3 bags weighing about 14kg; making a total of 24 bags weighing about 108kg.
We also collected & reported dumped metal, plastic & cardboard weighing about 75kg, collected 2 steel N2O cylinders, 12 vapes, recycled 22 glass bottles, recycled about 100 aluminium cans and reported 2 trolleys.
All-in-all a worthwhile start to the year 😊
Well done all! 👏
24 bags collected
11 pickers
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03 January 2026
Happy New Year 🥳 . Off to a wombling start in -1 degrees ❄️ and Miles Gray Road look this pretty 🙂.
Solo pick today. Knew there had been fly-tipping in Miles Gray Road. What was there🤔
Stats
7 purple litter sacks
1 pink sack of 15 plastic bottles and 30 drinks cans recycled into council bin♻️
A childs high chair
A childs bathroom stool
A miniature toilet 🚻😱
A plastic box
A large metal stand
Thank you to the guy jogging past at 9.30am in the cold🥶 who still managed to say well done ✅️🙂
8 bags collected
1 picker
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Litter picking groups
Litter Picking Groups are people who join forces to work towards a cleaner and greener community.
