A cartoonist and best-selling author feels so strongly about litter on the county’s roads that he will walk across Suffolk dressed as a bin to encourage local authorities to take a more proactive approach.
Charlie Haylock, from Great Cornard, said the strong response to his cartoon and letter in the EADT on April 25 on the problem of rubbish on Suffolk’s highways had spurred him on to plan the anti-litter walk.
It will be in four or five stages from Mildenhall to Felixstowe - about 60 miles - later this summer, with the first stage starting from the Queens Arms in Mildenhall and finishing at Gavin Ashley hair salon in Bury St Edmunds.
As someone who is used to making his point visually, Mr Haylock will be dressed up as a litter basket, which is being specially made by Jordan Engineering at Little Cornard, with a trail of cans and tins behind him.
He said: “It will be an attempt, not so much to make people aware, but to get authorities to be proactive in the first place and try to stop these litter louts.”
Mr Haylock, who has a regular spot on BBC Radio Suffolk, said clearing up the litter is expensive while presenting a danger to wildlife and damaging the county’s tourist trade.
“Let’s get them caught and let’s fine them heavily and let’s make them do litter picking as a community exercise,” he said. “Suffolk is a green county. We want to keep it green and clean.”
Mr Haylock, who is now in training, said the exact route - which is set to include Sudbury and a number of villages - needs to be finalised, but he is hoping members of the public will join him for the whole walk or stages.
He has invited BBC Radio Suffolk presenter Mark Murphy, of the Don’t be a Tosser anti-litter campaign, to join him for the stretch from Ipswich to Felixstowe.
Mr Murphy said: “I fully support Charlie in his efforts to help clean up Suffolk. It’s just such a shame some residents don’t care about where they live as much as he does.”
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