32 volunteers gathered at Didcot Civic Hall despite the early wet weather, to do battle with the local litter that plagues our towns and cities and with the aim of leaving Didcot Nice and Tidy. This was all part of the Didcot ‘Big Tidy Up’ organised by Didcot Town Council and held on Saturday 27th February 2010 from 10-12 noon..
Armed with litter pickers and bags for recycling and rubbish, our devoted volunteers led by Town Mayor Councillor Margaret Turner,picked up enough rubbish from Didcot’s streets to fill 52 bags of rubbish. They certainly achieved their objective.
Areas that received the ‘Big Tidy Up’ treatment covered the whole of the town and included the Meadow Way to Drake Avenue path, Manor Road, Lydalls Close, Wantage Road, Sherwood Road, Blenheim Close, Edinburgh Drive, Lodden Drive, Tamar Way, Lostock Place, the tennis courts and MUGA on Ladygrove,Haydon road, footpath along Fleet Meadow and Baden Powell Way.
Some of the more unusual items found included abandoned trolleys, old road signs and empty fire extinguishers!
Organiser, Stuart Carter from Didcot Town Council said “I am really pleased with how the morning went. More people turned up than I expected despitethe poor weather at the start, and hopefully we have raised awareness surrounding the litter issue in Didcot through this event.”
Mayor of Didcot stated that ‘all volunteers can be very proud of what they achieved. It goes to show that many people in Didcot care about the town and the environment and they should all be congratulated.
Didcot Town Council will look to organise another event of this nature so if you are interested in volunteering or would like to find out more please 
contact scarter@didcot.gov.uk.
Finally we would like to say a big thanks to all those who attended and especially 4 year old Joseph and 7 year old Naomi Byrne (pictured) who inspired every other volunteer with their desire to clean up the Meadow Way to Drake Avenue path with their parents.
