Despite the downpour, local people came together this April for the first Penwortham Business Network (PBN) Community Clean Up.

The St Teresa’s RC Primary School council joined local residents and members of the town’s business community in rooting out rubbish from bushes and gutters along Liverpool Road and surrounding spaces.

Through hardwork they collected and binned 15 full bags of rubbish between them.

The litter pick is set to become an annual event as part of the PBN’s commitment to giving back to the community.

Jemma Lloyd from Vincents Solicitors was one of the organisers. 

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She said: “The weather really wasn’t on our side and we all got absolutely soaked, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of everyone who came out to support the Community Clean Up. I was delighted with the turn out and how enthusiastic everyone was. 

“We were worried there wouldn’t be much to collect as the street didn’t seem too bad, but once we got down into the gutters and the hedges and alleyways, we found a lot of bottles, cans, cigarette packets and wrappers.

“The children were fantastic, they loved finding hidden bits and seeing the bags grow, we were all so impressed with them.”

The litter pickers split off into two groups heading in different directions along Liverpool Road and meeting up an hour and a half later with their haul.

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The 15 bags of rubbish were then collected by South Ribble Borough Council which also provided some of the litter picking equipment, as did St Catherine’s Hospice.

Estate Agent Michael Bailey, who co-founded the PBN with Jemma a year ago, said: “It was great for the business network to come together and give back to the town, the perfect way to celebrate the PBN’s first anniversary, and we hope to make it an annual event. 

“What was really great is how the rest of the community got involved on the day, especially the youngsters who are clearly very passionate about keeping their town tidy.

“We’ve even heard of other groups who couldn’t make our event, planning to do their own in support which is fantastic news. Thank you to everyone who played their part.”

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Rebecca Moffatt, teacher at St Teresa’s RC Primary in Stanley Grove, added: “The children were absolutely over the moon to fill so many bags, and we are very proud of them.

“As a school we instil the importance of being an active member of the community and helping others, and the children are all very aware of the negative environmental impact of litter, so it was great for the school council to take part in the event.

“It’s such a simple thing to do but can make such a difference, we’re definitely going to do something like this ourselves and get even more of the school involved next time.”

The most recent meeting of the Penwortham Business Network took place at Galloways Society for the Blind in Howick Avenue Penwortham on Thursday 20 April.

To find out more join the PBN Facebook page.

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