A YOUNG boy has decided to make a difference to his community and improve the environment.

Adam Lewis, 6, of Connah's Quay, took it upon himself to pick up litter around his local streets.

Dad Mike Lewis told the Leader: "I was working from home yesterday, and as the weather was quite nice, about 3pm we decided to take our puppy (Poppy) out for a quick walk.

"Adam said without any prompting 'Can we do some litter picking?' So I said yes, of course we can.

"Where he has got this from is two things really. The first is we have a street clean every now and again in Hollowbrook Drive and the surrounding alleyways, where a few local residents get together to clean up the area.

"Adam helps me with that, and generally has a good understanding of why we need to keep rubbish (particularly plastic) away from the local wildlife as it can damage them.

"He has also watched TV and seen things like the Sky campaign to clean up the oceans. He understands that plastic could get from our streets into the River Dee and then could be taken out to sea."

Mr Lewis said on their daily walk to school, Adam regularly comments on the amount of rubbish that they walk through on the way to Wepre Park.

He added: "On top of all this I show him the work that people like Our Back Yard Connah's Quay do, clearing up litter and making the neighbourhood nicer for residents and wildlife.

"I was given four litter pickers by Wayne Jones at Flintshire County Council as part of my #takeprideinyourstreet campaign and Facebook page, and Adam used one of those to pick up litter.

"A 20 minute walk turned into nearly an hour because of his determination to pick up every piece of litter he saw.

"We filled one carrier bag but could have easily filled two or three. Of course the main thing here is that we wish people didn't drop litter in the first place.

"Everyone needs to respect their environment around them and although we don't expect everyone to become an eco warrior it would be nice if people just took their litter home with them."