A ‘STOLEN’ charity box, full pouches of tobacco and a cooker lighter were among seven bag loads of rubbish fished out of a river as part of a litter pick by anglers.

Fishermen who spent Sunday clearing out part of the River Lyd in Lydney say litterers had treated the small river that runs through the town like ‘a dustbin’.

The fishing bailiffs who waded into the water believe the disposal of the charity box, tobacco and lighter may be connected to crimes, with the charity box and chain ripped out and emptied of cash before being chucked in the water.

Rubbish which had been deliberately discarded in the river included plastic and glass bottles, fast food containers and sweet and crisp packets.

Angling Trust area controller for Gloucestershire, Adrian Lane, said: “The bulk of the rubbish was plastic bottles and fast food containers and packets. There were a lot of glass bottles and there are still more to be recovered when water levels subside.

“There were some items that are definitely to do with crime, namely a charity box with chain, minus cash of course, and sealed tobacco pouches, which will be passed on to local police.

“It is a shame that people just cannot wait to get to a bin, there are plenty of them in Lydney. Obviously some people feel the River Lyd is a dustbin, but it is not.

“All of what was collected are deliberate acts of littering. And in the park I know there are still some tyres to be recovered when the water levels come back down to normal.”

He added: “There had been a lot of rain over the two days leading up to the litter pick, and although we got into the water by the Co-op that was only about 18 inches deep, as we got to the weir it was getting faster and progressively deeper.

“In order to avoid the risk of injury, it was decided to clear what we could reach in the water along the remaining part of the river on both banks, and a lot of rubbish was cleared, about seven bags in all, with both banks cleared right through to Lydney Lake.”

Those that attended with Adrian were Anthony Wilson (AT area controller Hereford & Worcester), voluntary bailiffs Adrian McCallister, Lawrence Birkin, Marcus Bassett and angler Sebastion Coe.

“I was amazed by the work done by the team, a great effort was made with voluntary bailiffs coming together from far and wide,” said Adrian.

“Anthony travelled some 48 miles to join us, with others coming from Gloucester and Stroud, and I cannot thank my team enough, they really worked hard.

“It just shows what we can do, and it will happen again when water levels subside and we can cover more of the water, from in the river.

“The Gloucestershire voluntary bailiff team were determined to make a difference, large or small, and we have plans for more litter picks.”

The refuse bags and litter pickers were all supplied by the Forest of Dean District Council, who also made arrangements to have the rubbish collected by Biffa.