FOUR-YEAR-OLD Bella Stokes was so sick of litter near her Oakhurst home she decided to do something about it.

So with her mum Gemma she put on a pair of gloves and went out with a bin bag and kitchen tongs to pick it up.

Bella told the Adver she wanted to do her bit to protect wildlife and make Swindon look cleaner.

She said: “I wanted to do it for the animals like the squirrels and the birds.

“I really love animals, especially guinea pigs. I have two at home called Fudge and Bedhead.

“Getting to clean up the parks and around where I live makes me feel very proud.

“When I told my teachers and friends at Busy Bees they said ‘well done’ and that made me feel so happy.”

Now Bella is saving up her pocket money to buy a litter picker so she can clean up more parts of Swindon.

Gemma was surprised when her daughter had the thoughtful idea.

The 36-year-old said: “Through lockdown we’ve gone on lots of walks and we were walking over to Taw Hill and there was litter everywhere.

“Bella is a bit of a sassy four-year-old and she put her hand on her hip and said ‘mummy this is not good behaviour, I’m going to pick it all up’.

“I had to stop her and said we would come back the next day with a bin bag and gloves. I thought she would forget about it but she was ready to go on Thursday, so off we went.

“We went around St Andrew’s Ridge and it was disgusting there. I didn’t let her pick up the glass just cans and other bits and she just kept going until the bag was full.

“She’s now calling herself the litter police and it’s her new favourite thing to do.

“I am very proud of her for doing this. It’s a lovely thing to do and I wouldn’t have even thought to do it myself. She wanted to do it and felt strongly about it which is lovely.”

Gemma thinks Bella was partly inspired after seeing images of the litter outside Anfield stadium after celebrations of Liverpool’s Premier League win.

Now the youngster is also planning to make posters to put up around Busy Bees at Swindon Broome.

“She’s on a bit of mission, she’s spreading the word to her friends to protect the animals and to not drop things on the floor,” Gemma said. “Bella is very grown up for her age, she’s very opinionated and stubborn. When she thinks of something she won’t let it drop. It’s been lovely to get to spend so much time with Bella during lockdown even doing this.”