AN 88-year-old grandfather collected a trolley’s worth of rubbish while he was walking along a river path in west Swindon.

Jeffrey Heath, of Shaw, said the impromptu tidy-up, on Tuesday afternoon, started when he saw a dumped Asda trolley in the River Ray while he was walking back from the Delta Tennis Centre where he had been for a stroll.

Using his walking stick, the pensioner managed to fish the trolley out of the river and then began heading back to return it to the supermarket.

But along the route he kept spotting disregarded rubbish and thought while he had the wheels he might as well put them to good use by picking it up.

To reach the refuse, he had to fish the cans, plastics and even a pair of knickers out of hedges and bushes.

The entire mission took more than an hour and a half.

“I was so shocked by all the rubbish I saw,” said the retired civil engineer.

“I have six grandchildren and I’ve taught them all to throw their rubbish away properly.”

He took the empty crisp wrappers and sheets of paper, which he found along the route, to be thrown away properly at Asda West Shopping Centre’s bins.

“One of the most surprising things was finding lots of half-finished cans of beers,” said Jeffrey.

“I don’t care how drunk you get, you finish your beer. It is a sign of the times that people will buy a beer and then only drink half of it.

“I was absolutely appalled by the amount of rubbish I found. I think people should think about what they are doing and not just throw things on the ground.

“It’s taken me so long because I’ve had to use my stick to hook things out of the bushes.

“I’ve been very surprised by the amount of things I’ve found along the way.

“The most surprising thing was a girl had obviously gone out wearing something and then not returned home wearing it that night.

“All my grandchildren, apart from two, have grown up now but they all know how to throw their rubbish away properly.”