Decades-old rubbish found by Leicestershire litter pickers

The bottle is believed to be nearly 40 years old

A washing-up liquid bottle - thought to be at least 38 years old - has been found by a group of volunteer litter pickers.

The Fairy liquid bottle was found by Scott Gibbins, from the South Leicestershire Litter Wombles.

He said it was still in "good condition" and its price of 42-and-a-half pence could still be seen.

A drinks can from the 1980s and old milk bottles were also found in the hedges in Newton Lane near Wigston.

Mr Gibbins, 53, said the group had picked litter on the road several times before but the time of year and weather can make a difference to what they find.

"In the summer time there is all the undergrowth, all the brambles, all the grass, so you can't get inside the ditches," he said.

"Now it's the winter time, and luckily we've not had much rain otherwise the ditches are full of water, everything has died back and everything is visible so we can get to all the old stuff and it's fantastic."

Mr Gibbins said the old Fairy bottle brought back memories

The can of Fanta had a ring pull style, which Mr Gibbins believes was phased out by the 1990s and the Fairy liquid bottle dates from at least 1984, when the halfpenny was phased out.

He said it was "great to see" the old bottle on Tuesday as it brought back memories.

"It's a strange find because it's a household item on a road," he said.

"You find cans because people drink cans as they're driving or walking along but a washing-up bottle is a bit of a strange one."

Mr Gibbins said the dry winter had allowed litter pickers to find old items that would usually be hidden

In three hours of picking litter, the group gathered 22 bin bags full of rubbish.

The bottle has been added to a collection of other old finds, which the group takes into schools as part of educational talks on the environment.