A quarter of a million people have joined the Mail's Spring clean

A quarter of a million people have joined the Mail’s Great British Spring clean campaign as 100,00 Brownies, Girl Guides and Rangers sign up

  • Girl Guides and Brownies have joined the Mail’s fight to tackle scourge of litter
  • This means that the number of people promising to contribute is now 262,000 
  • One Girl Guide says she takes a different route in her wheelchair due to litter
  • She says the rubbish on the floor would clog up her wheels if she went through it 

Girlguiding’s backing was announced by the Second Wimbledon Guides in south-west London this week – with a little help from furry fictional character Orinoco from local litter-picking crusaders The Wombles

The Great British Spring Clean has had another huge boost after 100,000 Girl Guides and Brownies pledged to take part.

The incredible show of support for the litter-picking initiative by Keep Britain Tidy, backed by the Daily Mail, brings the number of people promising to contribute so far to more than 262,000.

Girlguiding is the leading organisation for girls and young women in the UK with almost half a million members. It includes Brownies, Girl Guides and Rangers, who are aged 14-18.

Their support comes as all parts of the UK, young and old, come together to tackle the scourge of litter between March 20 and April 13. So far 6,199 clean-up events have been registered.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has backed the campaign as have Britain’s biggest banks Lloyds and HSBC, the National Trust, the Women’s Institute and Friends of the Earth.

In the world of sport, the England rugby and cricket teams are championing it. So too are the Co-op supermarket, Wilko, the People’s Postcode Lottery, Red Bull and Mars Wrigley.

Girlguiding’s backing was announced by the Second Wimbledon Guides in south-west London this week – with a little help from furry fictional character Orinoco from local litter-picking crusaders The Wombles.

Girl guides are pictured above with Orinoco. Girlguiding is the leading organisation for girls and young women in the UK with almost half a million members. It includes Brownies, Girl Guides and Rangers, who are aged 14-18

Member Elizabeth Ormrod, ten, who has to walk with crutches after a ski accident, said: ‘Sometimes I can’t even walk down the street without getting litter stuck to my crutches.

‘When I’ve used my wheelchair I’ve often had to take a different route because there is so much rubbish on the floor that it would clog up my wheels if I went through it.’

Leader of Second Wimbledon Guides Victoria Archer, 27, added: ‘I am continually amazed at the level at which our girls think about the world they live in. When we talk to them about recycling they are incredibly astute at how important it is to reduce their plastic.’

Last year’s Great British Spring Clean resulted in an incredible 563,163 people rolling up their sleeves to spruce up their communities.

It was the biggest mass environmental action seen in the UK.

A total of 4,308 tonnes of rubbish were removed in nearly one million bags of litter, of which 39 per cent was recycled.

This year we are aiming for up to one million volunteers to get involved to remove litter from beaches, the countryside, streets, rivers and lakes.

Angela Salt, CEO of Girlguiding, said: ‘Over 100,000 Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers took part in Girlguiding’s #PlasticPromise campaign – and our aim is the same number will get involved with the Great British Spring Clean. Making a difference in communities is at the heart of Girlguiding. We want the government to listen to girls when it comes to the environment, as it’s their future that will be affected the most.’

She added that a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles, as proposed by the government and supported by this newspaper, would help reduce litter if it was easy for children to use.

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: ‘We are delighted to have the support of the Girl Guides. I’m looking forward to working alongside them as we get outdoors to create the cleaner, healthier environment we all want to see.’

I’m a celebrity… get me out there: The stars waging war on rubbish

By Xantha Leatham and Rosanna Greenstreet for the Daily Mail

Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, 71, pictured picking litter with daughter Aphra, said the amount of rubbish near his home in Barnes, south-west London, was ‘heartbreaking’

Famous faces from stage and screen have been grabbing their litter pickers to support the Great British Spring Clean.

Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, 71, said the amount of rubbish near his home in Barnes, south-west London, was ‘heartbreaking’.

The ex-Tory MP, out picking with grown-up daughter Aphra, added: ‘This can be made into an enjoyable family activity, which will influence and educate the younger generation on the importance of having a clean community.’

Journalist John Sergeant took part in a clean-up close to his home in Ealing, west London – and was shocked to find mounds of plastic bottles, cigarette packets and coffee cups discarded near a canal.

The former BBC chief political correspondent, 75, said: ‘I’m extremely annoyed. If it can be cleaned up and we can concentrate on that it’s something that we can all do. Litter laziness hurts us all.’

He said he was keen to support the ‘brilliant’ Keep Britain Tidy campaign, backed by the Mail.


TV host Matthew Wright, 54, left, said he regularly picked plastic carrier bags from Regent’s Canal near his home in central London. Journalist John Sergeant, right, took part in a clean-up close to his home in Ealing, west London – and was shocked to find mounds of plastic bottles, cigarette packets and coffee cups discarded near a canal

Ex-Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq, 44, who helped clean up a park near her home in Ealing, said: ‘Children are more aware than adults of the crisis we face. My sons, Huxley and Covey, are five and seven and in their school each class has an ‘eco representative’.

They tell parents to pick up litter, to recycle, turn that tap off. It’s great. It’s so important, especially in this time of climate emergency, that we don’t spread plastic and rubbish all over our valuable green spaces.’

TV host Matthew Wright, 54, said he regularly picked plastic carrier bags from Regent’s Canal near his home in central London.

He added: ‘There is wildlife trying to survive and people throwing their rubbish in there drives me mad.

‘The Daily Mail has shown it is committed, highlighting this issue week after week. That is what it takes. We cannot just rely on local authorities to clean up litter for us.’  

Ex-Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq, 44, who helped clean up a park near her home in Ealing, said: ‘Children are more aware than adults of the crisis we face’. She said: ‘It’s so important, especially in this time of climate emergency, that we don’t spread plastic and rubbish all over our valuable green spaces’

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