Apathy blamed for 'this shocking plastic river' in Sleaford

Regular clean-ups of the River Slea are held by volunteers

Public apathy is being blamed for a constant flow of rubbish in a waterway dubbed a "shocking plastic river".

The River Slea, in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, is blighted by waste which gathers at a narrow channel in the town centre, campaigners say.

The town's mayor, Grenville Jackson, said the problem was largely caused by people's laziness.

"People throw it down and walk off - as far as they are concerned it's not there anymore," he said.

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He praised the efforts of volunteers and the council's cleaning team but said: "The problem is at night with people using the various takeaways and just throwing things down which then end up in the river.

"We live in a disposable society and people think they can just throw plastic away," he added.

Waste is generated by people discarding rubbish from fast food outlets, the mayor claims

Volunteer Andy Greenwood said the rubbish accumulates at a narrow point in the town centre

Volunteer Andy Greenwood, who helps with regular river clean-up sessions, said he was prompted to take action after seeing a picture on Facebook.

"You couldn't tell it was a river," he said.

"It was covered with plastic and I spoke up and said something needed to be done and it snowballed from there."

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In a recent clean-up, Mr Greenwood said they pulled about 40kg (88lbs) of plastic waste from the waterway.

Other items included a child's scooter and the sides of an old boiler.

Regan Harris, from Anglian Water, which dubbed the waterway "this shocking plastic river" in a Facebook post on Tuesday, said the company was committed to ridding the region of single-use plastic.

Along with Keep Britain Tidy, it helps to fund river clean ups in the region.