Volunteers remove 17 supermarket trolleys, seven bikes, a scooter and assorted road signs from River Almond in West Lothian

THEY’RE an eyesore and risk damaging expensive angling equipment as well as spoiling the environment.

A total of 17 supermarket trolleys, seven bikes, a scooter and assorted road signs were removed from the River Almond in West Lothian by six volunteers in a three-hour stint.

The clear-up last Friday came just a couple of months after an earlier blitz on the river junk which netted 33 trolleys, three bikes and two scooters.

Scot Muir, who organised the initiative, said: “Why people throw items into the river is beyond me, but we are doing our best to improve the environment.”

The volunteers are from the Forth Rivers Trust and West Lothian Angling Association which are working together to help improve the river for locals and fishermen.

In their latest clear-up the group tackled a 1.5 mile stretch of the Almond, starting at Livingston Rugby Club and working their way upstream through Howden to Livingston Football Club.

Mr Muir said: “Hats off the guys for their work last week and on our previous clean-up.”

He says the trolleys included ones from Asda, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and even B&Q - “It’s been away a couple of years, but we still get them,” he said.

“What I think happens is people can’t get their shopping home because they don’t have a car ir whatever and they take the trolleys over to the bus stops. I think that’s where the majority of them migrate to - and from that point they’re fair game for anybody who’s feeling a bit bored and wants to see a splash in the water.”

Mr Muir, who is secretary of the angling association, was pleased with the haul from the latest clear-up, but when he went for a walk on Sunday - just two days later - there was already at least one trolley in the water.

“There is absolutely no need for it at all. It shows a lack of respect for the environment just throwing them in.

“They’re really unsightly and then they start to break down. Sometimes people have waders that cost up to £300 and you’ll trash them if you come up against because they’re all jagged, I guess there is a risk that our lines will get entangled in them and they don’t help the water quality.”

He said there had been a problem with trolleys dating back decades and there had been previous clear-ups, but now they were more co-ordinated.

“Some of our members also them out when they’re out and about,” he said.

The Almond is a favourite spot for anglers to catch brown trout. The West Lothian Angling Association has over 150 members and the Cramond Angling Club more than 100. The river is also popular with dog walkers and teenagers going for a swim.

But Mr Muir fully expects to have to organise another clear-up soon. “Some parts of the river are really deep. When you get high water it stirs them up out of the pools and they move downstream. By the time you get down to Cramond it’s maybe just the wheels that are left.”

The salvaged trolleys are sometimes taken away under the Trolleywise scheme run by the trolley manufacturers who will collect them or handed over to Your Junk who take them away for scrap.