A young boy from Lostock Hall asked for a litter picker for Christmas – and has big plans to help clean up South Ribble.
Theo Thompson, an eight-year-old boy from Lostock Hall who recently moved from New Longton, wants to make a difference in how people see their local area.
He had been left both ‘upset and angry’ after seeing the amount of litter in local areas and vowed to do something to make the community a cleaner place.
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Cara Kirkham, Theo’s mother, said: “I am really proud but, to be honest, he has always been like that.
“He’s always been very kind and wants to help people out.”
Theo has also been using the litter picking group he started as a way to make new friends.
The first community litter picking event took place on Sunday, 18 January and saw children from the local area, including footballers from Lostock Hall Juniors, help out.
They gathered 22 bags of litter in just a few hours.
Cllr David Bollenberg, representing Labour on South Ribble Borough Council in the Bamber Bridge ward, also regularly arranges community litter picking events and is full of praise for little Theo.
He said: “Theo and his mum Cara are community heroes! When I read about their work to clean up Lostock Hall I reached out to see if I could help at their next litter pick.
“I spoke to the Mercer Road Community Group and the local Lostock Hall councillors to round up volunteers to join the pick and make hot chocolates for everyone afterwards. By the end of the pick, more than 20 volunteers had removed over 20 bags of litter from the area.
“Theo, Cara, and the Mercer Road group show the real value of street-level community action when it comes to loving where you live and making the community happier, healthier, and more welcoming for all.”
If you would like to join in on the action, you can find information regarding Theo’s Litter Pickers in the Lostock Hall Community Facebook group as well as on both Cara’s and Councillor Bollenberg’s Facebook pages.
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