COMMUNITY spirited residents have doubled the amount of rubbish collected on their estate which was blighted by fly-tippers.

The Westleigh Wombles are winning the battle against litterbugs who have blighted their housing estate for several years.

The voluntary clean-up team was set up to combat the huge amount of litter and dumped waste strewn across the streets and alleyways of the 900-home ‘Trees estate’ in Leigh.

Thanks to a£400 grant from Leigh-based firm Astley Hire, as part of the company’s community Foundation programme, the six-strong group of litter pickers are now fully-equipped with trolleys and hi-vis jackets.

This allows them to collect double the amount of rubbish.

The group were recently joined on a spring clean-up day by children from Westleigh primary school’s Eco Warriors team, Councillors Mark and Karen Aldred, who represent the Atherleigh and Atherton wards, and Stephen Dorricott, managing director of Astley Hire.

Karen Battersby, who started the Westleigh Wombles said: “As a group we have seen mattresses, cookers and bedding, anything you can think of is dumped.

“There can be bin bags, carrier bags, wheelie bins tipped over and general rubbish.

“Since I’ve lived here it’s always been bad for fly-tipping and rubbish. I’d had enough. I was sick of it. You’re opening your curtains every day and looking at it everywhere.

“I just got to the point where I thought I don’t want to live like this and I should try to do something about it.

“I initially started litter picking off my own back. Other people living on the estate saw me doing it and said they’d like to help. It went from there really.

“We do it for an hour once every fortnight as we’ve all got other commitments.

“We’re making a real difference and the estate is much better than it was. Of course the situation isn’t perfect, but what we’re doing does help.

“The group was initially set up and equipped with the help of Wigan Council as part of ‘The Deal’. We are extremely lucky and grateful to have the full support of our Estate Caretaker, who collects any bags of rubbish for us as quickly as he possibly can.”

The donation from Astley Hire, who have been in business 50 years and employ 26 staff across seven divisions anchored at its Jury Street Headquarters in Leigh, has given the team a boost.

Karen said: “We’ve been able to buy trolleys with the money which has been vital.

“The trolleys enable us to get further up the estate because we no longer have to carry the bags by hand. They’ve been so useful.

“We collect 12 bags a fortnight now we have the trolleys. We only used to be able to fill four or five so it’s really helped.

“We’ve also purchased hi-vis jackets with our name and Astley Hire on the back so people know who we are. We got litter pickers, gloves and dustbin and brushes.

“We’ve also got these circular hoop which attach to the opening of the bin bag so when it’s windy the bag stays open.

“We’re so grateful to Astley Hire as they’ve helped us so much. I’ve been posting pictures of our litter picks on their Facebook page to say thank you and show how they’ve helped us.

“Hopefully people can see we’re making a difference and that it’s a better place to live, but there is still a lot to be done.”

Cllr Mark Aldred said: “The help from Astley Hire has allowed them to continue cleaning up the area on a weekly basis.

“Everyone is getting involved, the old and the young too and us as local councillors are going along too whenever we can.”

“It’s made a huge difference to the estate, how it looks and how people feel about the estate.”

Stephen Dorricott, Managing Director of Astley Hire said he and his brother, Astley Hire Operations Director Michael Dorricott, had no hesitation selecting the Westleigh Wombles as a recipient of one of their Community Foundation grants.

He said: “I was absolutely delighted to support Karen and the rest of the residents who are doing such great work down on the Trees estate.

“They are giving up their own time and effort to make a real difference in their community so the least we could do was help them with the funds to buy the equipment they need to continue their litter picking.

“I’m sure the Westleigh Wombles will go from strength to strength and I look forward to seeing the results of their fantastic work.”

The team, who have receive ongoing support from their local councillors, are now hoping to widen the influence of the Westleigh Wombles, a name they’ve been promoting on social media.

Karen said: “In the future we’d really like to get more schoolchildren involved in our work and to teach them from an early age to not drop litter.

“Hopefully educating the young ones will benefit the estate in later years.”

Astley Hire is an industrial equipment hire business, with equipment for hire including access machines, industrial cleaning machines, heaters and coolers, and general tools.

The firm also offers equipment safety training courses to customers across the North West.

In honour of Astley Hire’s half century the company earmarked £3,500 to set up a Community Foundation to help local good causes.

The firm invited applications for grants from the Foundation of up to £500 each, to give back something to the community which has so loyally supported it since 1966.

To find out more about Astley Hire visit AstleyHire.co.uk or find the company on Facebook or Twitter.