Sir – On March 28, you featured a letter from Fiona Smart of Didcot who, along with her daughter, had litter picked the old railway line between Didcot and East Hagbourne.

We let her down by failing to collect the rubbish she had cleared and I have written to her personally to apologise.


I am pleased to say that the rubbish bags and shopping trolley have now gone.


We need more public-spirited people like Mrs Smart and when they step forward we must support them.


I would like to see more residents organising litter picks because the simple truth is that a lot of people don’t care about despoiling our towns and countryside and we do not have the resources to keep on top of the problem.


Despite spending increasingly large sums on litter picking, we need community volunteers to support us if we are going to keep South and Vale litter free.


I simply ask one thing. Let us know first. We can then provide specially marked bags, easily recognisable for our collection team and easily distinguishable from
fly-tipping.
David Buckle, Chief executive, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils