I think the #LoveYourForest anti-litter campaign is great.

I’m really disturbed by the amount of litter being dropped in the Forest, particularly out of car windows, and the amount of fly-tipping I’ve seen.

Last spring, just before the bluebells appeared, I found myself with a free Saturday to spare.

The weather was good so I decided on a whim to go out litter picking along the road near where I live in Soudley.

I was mindful that the area would soon be swarming with visitors enjoying the spectacular bluebell display and I thought it was such a shame that the forest floor was also peppered with crisp packets, cans, disposable coffee cups etc.

I’m extremely proud of where I live and I wanted the area to look it’s best.

I spent six hours collecting nine black refuse sacks full of other people’s rubbish.

At the end of the day I took all the litter to Oak Quarry to dispose of it.

However, I naively let slip where the waste had come from and was told that I couldn’t dispose of it there because it was “the Forestry Commission’s responsibility”.

I was, and still am, very dismayed.

I feel utterly frustrated when I see litter along the roadside and I simply cannot understand why people won’t take it home with them.

But the red tape binding my impromptu attempt to improve the situation was equally as maddening.

– Chloe Geoghegan, Soudley.