Fundraiser for litter-eating water drone a success

Leeds Waterfront Group needed £24,000 to maintain the WasteShark drone, but raised more than £45,000

A fundraising campaign to pay for a drone to continue cleaning a city's waterways has smashed its target.

More than £45,000 was raised in less than eight weeks to fund the continuing use of the WasteShark, which is said to have removed the equivalent of more than 4,000 litres of organic matter, plastic and debris from around Leeds Dock in its first year.

Leeds Waterfront Group (LWG) launched their campaign in May to raise £24,000 for another year of the device - with hopes that a further £10,000 could be raised to fund an extra day a week's use.

LWG chair Paul Ellison said he had been "blown away" by the response to the campaign to keep the machine's mission going.

Fundraisers amassed £45, 000 in less than two months to maintain the drone's litter patrolling

A spokesperson for LWG said the money had been raised thanks to the efforts of 12 business sponsors who stumped up £24,000, and more than 400 donations from the public, which raised £21,000.

They said the funds would allow the drone to bag an additional 4,500 litres of rubbish per year.

Operated directly by a human controller, the drone, which is reportedly the only one of its kind in the UK, is equipped with GPS, collision avoidance technology and a camera, to avoid posing a risk to wildlife or other water users.

If objects are too large for it to "swallow" the WasteShark is also capable of manoeuvring them to the side to be removed manually.

Mr Ellison said: "We want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has shown their support, particularly our sponsors, who will not only be providing funding, but also helping us spread the message about keeping our waterways clean and protecting our local environment."

He added: "WasteShark is unique to our city and it's hugely gratifying to know that so many people share our desire to continue making a difference at a local level."

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