TWO mums have become 'industrial wombles' in a bid to clear the Stroud Valleys of rubbish.

Horrified by the amount of litter they saw on their local walks, Woodchester friends Sylvia May and Helen Latham pledged to do 60 hours of litter picking - to tidy the area and raise money for Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT).

Sylvia explained: "Over the last year, spending more time in our local area as many of us have, Helen and I decided to do something constructive about the litter we kept seeing when we were out and about.

"Sadly over the weeks of litter picking we found several dead mice/voles that had got stuck inside bottles or cans carelessly discarded, and we became aware of the mountains of plastic and glass left in the natural world posing a threat to our wildlife - apparently some four million animals die each year as a result of our littering.

"We found this very upsetting and decided to see if, while removing the litter, we could also raise money for GWT, a charity my family have belonged to for many years."

The pair started in February and have now completed more than 45 hours.

Helen said: "We are both part of the local Five Valleys Wombles group, which is doing a fantastic job keeping our local community clear of litter, but Sylvia and I tend to do a couple of hours at a time of what we call 'industrial wombling'.

"This means rather than picking up litter as we walk, we try to go to a specific area and give it a 'deep clean'. Lay-bys are very rewarding to do as you really feel like you can make a difference. Unfortunately they are often very littered, but after an hour or two of working on a small area, they really look very different."

The women have also spent quite a few hours on the cycle track, which is particularly bad near to town. The litter they find is varied, ranging from cans and bottles to a toilet seat, a hoe, broken traffic signs, dirty nappies and many face masks and gloves.

Helen said: "It's distressing when we find wildlife trapped in bottles or cans. There's a familiar but awful smell when you know something has got caught and unable to free itself."

Both women find the work rewarding, but as Helen said: "It's frustrating when you've thoroughly cleaned an area to find it littered again within a few weeks."

Helen and Sylvia have set themselves a target of raising £900.

To donate go to justgiving.com/fundraising/sylvia-may1