Dad gets up at 6am every weekday to keep town clean

Connor has been litter picking in Stapleford for the past two years

A hot cup of coffee or a brisk walk outdoors are how some people choose to spend their mornings.

But for one man it is a time to put on his hi-vis vest, grab his litter picker, and tackle the rubbish in the streets of his hometown.

Connor, from Stapleford in Nottinghamshire, starts his task every weekday at 06:00, and said his daughter was the inspiration behind starting two years ago.

The 23-year-old said: "I don't want my daughter stepping on cigarette butts and crisp packets - I want the streets to be clean and for her to be proud of where she lives."

Connor wants to make the streets cleaner for his daughter

Connor has lived in Stapleford all his life but he believes littering has become worse in recent years.

"When I was a kid, most of the streets were clean and you wouldn't expect to see rubbish in the parks or residential areas," he said.

"Now, I'd say there's more rubbish than play equipment in the parks. It's disappointing to see."

One experience that motivated him to continue litter picking was the state of the route to his daughter's nursery.

"We walked my daughter to nursery through a footpath, and to put it bluntly, it was disgusting," he explained.

"Covered in rubbish like dog poo, cigarette butts and fly-tipping.

"Nobody's child should be walking through that, and it motivated me to do something about it."

Connor said being a young father "completely changed" his outlook on the environment.

"Being a young dad is scary, however, it's made me a better man and person," he added.

"Every day I want to make the world a nicer and more engaging place for her. I want to improve the environment around us so she grows up somewhere nice."

Litter discovered along the A6007 in Stapleford

Connor relies on tip-offs from the public via Facebook and his website to find out where the worst littering spots are.

Until now, he has been doing it anonymously.

"What I do is about the community, not me, so why do I need to show my face? To me, it's about helping the people," he said.

In his two years of litter picking, he said some items bother him more than others.

"Cigarette butts are my arch-nemesis. We have to pick every single one up individually, and when it rains, they expand and become even harder to pick up.

"Please - just put them in a bin."

In the future, Conor wants more people to join his litter picking operation

Connor's work has been praised by people in the community, including Richard MacRae, leader of the Broxtowe Independents Group on Broxtowe Borough Council.

Mr MacRae said: "Connor's dedication to keeping Stapleford clean is truly inspiring.

"Waking up at 6am every weekday to litter pick shows an incredible commitment to our community, and it's fantastic to see a young person leading by example. Initiatives like his really make a difference."

Connor currently picks litter alone, but he hopes more people will join him in the future.

He has had four people wanting to join him and said he would like one day to have a person responsible for individual areas "so there is never any litter as people keep picking it up".

For now, Connor's daughter is too young to get involved, but he hopes she will join him in the future.

"When she's a bit older, I'll take her on her first litter pick. I hope she can look back at this and be proud of what her dad is doing," he said.

"That would mean the world to me."