7:28pm Thursday 28th May 2009
RIVERKEEPER Ashe Hurst and a band of volunteers were up to their chests in the River Cray on the bank holiday weekend, helping to clear the river of rubbish.
With him were two volunteer river keepers and nine other volunteers who put on chest waders to walk against the flow upriver, from Five Arches lake at Foots Cray Meadows, North Cray, to Penny Farthing Bridge.
Clearing the rubbish as they went, they managed to collect 17 sacks of litter.
The volunteers were also able to see the river’s wildlife and fish such as chub, dace and pike, up close.
Lots of local people stopped to chat with the volunteers and ask more about what they were doing.
Mr Hurst also examined the river and its banks for baited set lines, also known as dead lines, which are used to illegally trap wildlife and fish.
Unlike on previous days recently, none were found.
Once back at the lake, volunteers also cleared litter from the sluices and downriver to Water Lane, where another three sacks of litter were filled.
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