Davidsons helps retired local residents keep their village tidy

For years, proud residents of Blackfordby in North West Leicestershire have been working hard to keep their village tidy.

A band of dedicated individuals have kept the roads, walkways and hedgerows clear of the litter as it has accumulated.

Now villagers want a more regular, coordinated approach, but money was needed for the supply of litter picking plus health and safety equipment.

Local housebuilder Davidsons Homes, which is building a range of two, three, four and five-bedroom  houses at Spires View, off Butt Lane in Blackfordby, has backed these local villagers, by supplying litter picking equipment and high-vis vests for a coordinated community group of litter pickers.

Lawrie Newton one of the volunteers said: “The main roads in and out of Blackfordby do require regular litter removal and the recent high winds certainly haven’t helped.”

Stephanie King, Sales Director for Davidsons Homes, said: “We heard about the villager’s litter-picking vision, which started with a large scale litter pick in the summer last year, just before the inaugural Blackfordby Open Gardens event.

“We always like to maintain a tidy site, so a tidy village is something we definitely wanted to get involved with. We’re pleased to be able to help their admirable work and hope that the group of volunteers will benefit from the equipment we have donated.”

Lawrie Newton said many village residents already work to keep the areas beside their homes clean, and recently a group of teenagers spent a day cleaning the brook by the village playing field.

But Lawrie added: “To ensure that our lovely village roads and walkways remain as clean as possible an increase in the number of volunteers was needed.

“The cost of providing the equipment was prohibitive for individuals to fund themselves and the offer from Davidsons Homes is extremely welcome in that it will enable the village to maintain a core of volunteers using the best equipment available safely and efficiently.”