Historical tour of Northampton to run in conjunction with a litter pick to encourage more people to look after our town

A litter picking group has organised an event whereby a historical tour of Northampton combines with collection of discarded rubbish.

Northants Litter Wombles is a group of volunteers who complete litter picks all over the county to keep our streets and green spaces tidy.

In a bid to appeal to more people and extend its reach, the group has teamed up with Terry Whenham from Terry’s Tours to create an event whereby people will get a free walking historical tour of Northampton while litter picking.

The first event will take place in August and will be attended by Mayor Rufia Ashraf who is backing a campaign to rid the town of litter.

Starting from Abington Square at the Charles Bradlaugh statue, the tour will then head along Kettering Road into the shoe quarter of town, as well as past the Racecourse.

Sally Romain, part of the steering group for the Wombles, said: “We hope it will educate a different kind of person that might be interested in keeping the town clean.

“The areas the tour covers have quite a bit of litter so it will be good to get those parts cleared up too.

“We hope it will help people get to know Northampton a bit better, as well as making it a better place to live, work and relax.

“We’re all concerned about the state of Northampton and how it has been allowed to deteriorate so we need to do something to improve the environment.”

The tour, which will take place from 9.30am to 11.30am on August 21, is only open for 20 people, however, Sally says if it is a success, the group will look to organise more in the future.

She also says it could become a regular event, with this one being ‘the first of many’, as the concept could be extended to other towns in the county such as Corby and Wellingborough.

The group has contacted Veolia to ask to borrow kit so that participants do not have to provide their own litter pickers.

To sign up to the tour and find out more about the Wombles, visit ‘Northants Litter Wombles’ on Facebook.