AN 11-year project to clear the River Wye and its tributaries of litter finished at Beachley last week.

The 120 tonnes of rubbish removed from the river included 4,000 bags of litter, whole cars and even a sack full of dead moles.

More than 1,000 volunteers have cleared 1,000 miles of river bank from the source of the Wye in Plynlimon, mid Wales down to Beachley where it meets the Severn.

Among the volunteers was Graham Brown, of Ross, who joined others to celebrate the end of the project at Beachley.

He said: "I'm a keen fisherman and believe in conservation of the rivers so it's my way of giving something back."

The final litter pick at Beachley was followed by the 'handing over' of the river from the Wye and Usk Foundation (WUF) to the Marine Conservation Society and Angling Trust who will carry the project on into the estuary and beyond.

Dr Stephen Marsh-Smith OBE, the foundation's director said: "This initiative, which started in 2004, has shown that it is possible to clean up a river as large as the Wye.

"We owe a huge thanks to the River Wye Preservation Trust, Keep Wales Tidy and the AONB who have funded and helped with volunteers – and the huge army of those who made the effort to clear the rubbish away.

"Local authorities were most helpful in picking up the massive number of bags and the Environment Agency – now Natural Resources Wales – helped with some of the car removals.

"Now we all need to work together to educate and ensure as little rubbish as possible comes back."