Sack-cessful start for new town spring clean

ABOUT 300 bags of rubbish was collected in two hours in and around Henley town centre.

More than 250 people attended the inaugural Great Henley Sack Race on Sunday and items recovered included a gas bottle, half a shopping trolley and a kitchen countertop.

Volunteers were given designated areas and, in addition to Market Place, they collected litter in residential streets, including St Mark’s Road, Station Road and Valley Road.

They used equipment including hi-vis jackets, litter pickers, gloves and bags that were loaned by Henley in Bloom, South Oxfordshire District Council and Wallingford Town Council.

Groups involved in the clean-up included 1st Henley Scouts, Henley Women’s Institute, Henley United and Sacred Heart Primary School.

They arrived at the town hall to collect the items at 2pm where they were provided a map with allocated streets.

Children were provided with bingo cards, which included items which they could cross off as they collected them.

Members of Henley Rowing Club collected rubbish floating in the River Thames, including plastic bottles, which were washed with a hose and recycled at the club.

Ali Walker, a member of the club, found “floating treasure” while clearing items from the river near Wargrave Road.

Ann Tully, a member of the club who lives in Rod Eyot, who organised the members, said: “One of the ladies was lying down on the pontoon, reaching out with one of the pickers and saw a floating little jewellery box.

“Once she’d retrieved it, we opened it up and inside was a charm that would go on a necklace. It was an oval-shaped tiger’s eye stone sitting on a bit of what would have been cotton wool, which was wet as it had probably been in the water for some time.

“It came from a shop in Southall and maybe someone gave this lovely present on a boat or while walking, but it ended up in the river where we were.”

About 25 scouts, beavers and explorers, aged eight to 18, and their leaders took part.

Andrew Heriot, 55, a scout leader from Valley Road, said: “We did a quick tour of the station car park and then we went down by the river along the path between the industrial units and Mill Meadows and back through towards the town centre.

“We got all kinds of litter from small items, including quite a few vapes, cans, a vodka bottle and a shopping trolley.”

Eva Rickett, who lives in King’s Road and owns Henley Scan with her husband Graham, wants a campaign launched to curb littering in the town. She was disappointed to find mostly cigarette ends.

She said: “We concentrated around King’s Road, towards our home, a bit selfishly. Around 60 per cent were cigarette butts, which upsets me. My worry with the litter is that it goes into the drains and causes flooding issues. We found things in the bushes near Gardiner Place like meal deals, which they decided were for the bushes instead of a bin.”

Geoff Luckett, the chairman of the Henley Society, which sponsored the event, said: “I’m very pleased with the turnout.

“At the Henley Society, one of our aims is always to have a tidier town that’s free of litter. So, when the opportunity came up to sponsor the event, it seemed to be a no-brainer to me.

“We had quite a lot of our members sign up and turn up, which is good and I hope this will become a regular event because I think it’s a great initiative.”

Henley MP Freddie van Mierlo said: “It’s fantastic. There were more than 250 people that showed up, which just shows the strength of the community in Henley and how much people want to do to help look after the town.

“Litter is very symbolic of how well a place is looked after, and this has been such a great opportunity for everyone to feel like they’re part of the town and to contribute to how it looks.”

Daisy Smith, the communications manager at the town council, said: “I brought my nine-year-old son, Joey, along and it was a great chance for him to learn what community really means.

“On the way home, he was full of questions — like ‘Why anyone would drop litter when there’s a bin right there?’ and ‘Why do people throw chewing gum and cigarette ends on the ground without thinking of others?’. It really hit home how these local events don’t just entertain, they inspire the next generation to care more and do better.

“We were absolutely thrilled with the amazing turnout at Sunday’s sack race — it was a fantastic celebration of community spirit.

“It truly was a family affair, with everyone from toddlers to grandparents getting involved and cheering each other on.

“Events like this show Henley at its very best. Thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a joyful afternoon.”

Afterwards, refreshments, including hot tea and coffee and homemade cakes were provided in the Queen Elizabeth II Hall. Children’s goody bags and activities, including colouring packs, were also provided for the young participants.

Sheridan Jacklin-Edward, clerk to the council, said: “Because we’re trying to be a bee-friendly town, the goody bags have a bug colouring mask, a bee pencil and rubber, an origami bee and wildflower seeds. It’s all bee-orientated and sustainably sourced, recyclable and compostable.”

Following the tidy, rubbish was returned to the front steps of the town hall and collected by the council’s parks services team.

The sack race was a revival of the Hit Litter campaign which was previously run as part of Henley in Bloom. At the last event, in 2019, around 100 people attended.