Protest held in Grimsby over shopping trolleys dumped in river

A number of trolleys were pulled from a river and returned to the store bearing the slogan 'sort it out Morrisons'

Campaigners have held a protest outside a Grimsby supermarket in response to shopping trolleys not being collected after they were dumped in a river.

The Freshney Comrades group, which includes James Elliott, who is known as the Canoe River Cleaner, staged the protest outside Morrisons in Laceby.

Mr Elliott said they wanted shop bosses to do more to tackle the problem.

Morrisons said it was aware some trolleys had not been collected "as quickly as usual".

Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside, Mr Elliott said he was worried about the impact on the environment.

"It's also an eyesore for the people who enjoy the area," he said.

Mr Elliott said it was a long-standing issue and, despite assurances that action would be taken, nothing had happened.

"They promised they would lock them up at night and they don't - they don't have the pound or token system any more and they don't have a perimeter system which stops them leaving the area," he added.

The Freshney Comrades group is calling on Morrisons to do more to mitigate the problem

"It's not about finger-wagging," Mr Elliott said, but added Morrisons needed to work with the group to make the process of collecting the trolleys easier.

Mr Elliott said many stores used a national scheme to collect their trolleys.

"That said, not every Morrisons sits yards away from a rare chalk stream which is home to important wildlife and plant species not typically found in other environments," he added.

In response, a Morrisons spokesperson said: "We're aware that some abandoned trolleys have not been collected as quickly as usual - we are looking into what has gone wrong to avoid this happening again."

Last year, dozens of shopping trolleys were hauled out of the River Freshney as part of a major clean-up.

The day marked the start of a campaign to clear junk from the river and to encourage other people to get involved.