Volunteers came together at Westbury’s White Horse to take part in a community litter pick and help tidy the much-loved local landmark, collecting 25 bags of rubbish.
Members of the Avon Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club gathered on Sunday 13th April for the event, which also attracted support from Westbury locals, some of whom had spotted details in the pages of the White Horse News.
Following a health and safety briefing from Nev Almond, volunteers were split into four teams and set off to different areas to begin the clean-up.
Mark Davis, who travelled from Frome to take part, was kept busy collecting rubbish near the car park. He said, “The club uses the Westbury White Horse site regularly for paragliding and we are very grateful to be able to do so. We want to help maintain the area and keep it a beautiful place for people to come and enjoy.”
Fellow club member Phil Jolly said he ‘owed it to Westbury’ to give back in some way after so many happy years visiting the White Horse.
Other volunteers from the club made the journey from places including Bath, Bristol, Andover, Shaftesbury and Salisbury to take part.
Spirits remained high as bags were filled with rubbish ranging from bottles and vapes to dog poo bags – and even an entire pizza box.
Nev, who has been hang-gliding and paragliding at the site for 46 years, said, “After an hour and a half, the team of more than 30 volunteers had gathered their collection of 25 full bags.
“The smiles all round showed a sense of pride; that’s a lot of litter! It was a thoroughly enjoyable and sociable event, which we’ll continue to run annually.”
