Litter-picker says tidying 'keeps his mind active'

A man who cleans up his area for free has been dubbed a local hero on social media.

Andy Sherman, from Lawrence Weston, Bristol, has been cleaning up litter for his community every day for the last 10 years.

Mr Sherman mainly spends his time litter picking, clearing away mud and clearing around road signs saying that it kept him "self-occupied" and his "mind active".

Bristol City Council said it was "extremely grateful" to everyone who volunteers to help keep the city clean.

The retired volunteer said: "It's something to do, the exercise is good and it keeps my mind active.

"Every day I come out there's fresh rubbish and it just gets picked up and taken away which is a nice thing to do," he said.

Mr Sherman said he felt the council should be doing the work but believed it did not have the funds.

Mr Sherman emphasised that he is not alone in helping out his community, with "many people doing this off their own back" in Bristol like him.

"And if it weren't for the dustbin men, I couldn't do it," he said.

The volunteer said he was surprised at the amount of praise he had received from his work.

"It seems strange when it goes viral, especially when you see it on the front page of the Evening Post."

A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said: “We are extremely grateful for everyone who volunteers their time to help keep the city clean and tidy.

"Over 3,800 volunteers have given their time to improve the cleanliness of the city during the last year.

"We have worked with Bristol Waste to support this, providing litter picking tools, high-viz vests and collecting the resulting bags of waste and recycling, including during the Great Bristol Spring Clean which ran from 5 April to 6 May 2024 and saw 1,527 volunteers litter picking across the city.

“During recent months we have responded to local residents’ requests and worked with Bristol Waste to improve the street cleansing around Lawrence Weston.”

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