Oakham schoolboy becomes a Waste Warrior

A schoolboy is on a mission to rid Oakham’s parks and playgrounds of litter.

Alfie Palmer has been learning about the environment and saving the planet at school.

The six-year-old was inspired to take action during a trip to the Grampian Road playground where he was astounded by the amount of rubbish.

He sent his dad Luke home for a bin bag and within half an hour Alfie had cleared every bit of litter from the park.

He now wants to tackle the other green spaces in Oakham.

Proud dad Luke, 32, said: “Alfie couldn’t believe the state of the park and said people should realise what they’re doing.

“He wants to clean up the other parks too because he said it’s not fair for children to play in all the rubbish.”

The family, including mum Lianne, 25, and three-year-old Poppy will be heading out again this week to use Alfie’s new litter grabber.

He has since been made an honorary member of the eco council at Brooke Hill Academy.

Headteacher Richard Westley said: "We were all so impressed to hear about Alfie putting his learning to real life use.

"When we talked about what had happened in assembly the children were really impressed and inspired to do something similar themselves."

The Rutland & Stamford Mercury recently launched a Waste Warriors campaign to celebrate the efforts of volunteer litter pickers across the area.

Let us know what you're doing to keep our towns and villages clean by emailing smeditor@stamfordmercury.co.uk