The fine drizzle that fell on the morning of Saturday 24 October did little to put off the dozen or so local volunteers who turned up to rid the Norbury Brook of its litter.  

Kitted up in steel toe-capped wellingtons and armed with litter pickers, courtesy of our friends at Thames 21, the volunteers climbed down into the Brook (the canalised headwaters of one of the Wandle’s main tributaries, the Graveney) and filled bin bags galore which were passed up and over the railings to others who ferried them to the dump site in a wheelbarrow.

Apart from a dead squirrel, the most significant find was someone’s wallet – no money in it, of course, but all their credit cards appeared to be there.  Amusingly, there was also an empty Havana tube – close but no cigar, you could say!

Many thanks to the ladies of the Friends of Thornton Heath Recreation Ground for the soup and sandwiches afterwards.