The ‘litter womble’ movement has sprung up all over the country with groups being set up named after the fictional TV characters who were known for cleaning up areas like Wimbledon Common.
Harry Machin, secretary of Peterborough Litter Wombles, said the group was founded only a month ago and has seen a ‘fantastic response.
Harry and the other founders started the group and launched a Facebook page after being inspired by a similar group in Northampton.
Harry said: “It seems to be building nicely but we would like some more membert. There was a lot more flytipping during lockdown, probably due to restrictions. People were walking outside a bit more so I suppose there will be more litter across the country.”
Harry is out around four days a week at the moment to help ‘get the group off the ground’ as he is ‘really keen’ to make a difference.
He said: “ We cover all different areas and there are really good PE4 wombles who were there before we got the page started.
It has 180 members covering Werrington, Paston and Walton who go out every day and they are really making a difference in that area! There is a whole lot more that can be done. We would love more people to join.”
The group is encouraging people to nominate a ‘grot spot’; areas in the city where there are large amounts of litter and poston the Facebook page or email. In Stanground Harry found ‘the contents of a kitchen’ in a small river with 30 broken mugs, 60 empty tins and a bundle of pots and pans.
It’s not all rubbish though, as Harry and some others found treasure in beautiful embellished material that will be repurposed for clothing.
The group has joined forces with Jim Watts, lead organiser of a kayak pick who came up with the idea to kayak down the River Nene, to reach areas that can’t be picked on foot, starting from Wansford to the city centre.
For details of how to join the group and support its activities visit its facebook page.
The PE4 Wombles can be found here.
