KNUTSFORDIANS have spoken of their disgust after litter – including broken bottles, cigarette papers, pizza boxes and cans of lager – were left strewn across the Moor at the weekend.

The rubbish had been left behind on the Moor on Friday night and it is believed the culprits were youngsters who were seen gathering there that evening.

Resident Paul Langley, after seeing the state the land had been left in, took it into his own hands and got up at 6am on Sunday morning to clean up the mess by himself.

Paul, of Moordale Road, said: “It really got to me and annoyed me.  It pricked my social conscience in a way.  A lot of money was spent doing the Moor up – it is a total lack of respect.”

Paul witnessed the youngsters throwing rubbish on the ground on Friday night but said he thought they would have cleaned up when they left. 

He said: “I had been going for dinner on Friday night and saw lots of kids smoking and drinking on the Moor.  I have no problem with that, we were all teenagers once, but if they were half decent they would have picked it up and put it in the bin. 

“There are bins everywhere on the Moor.  Some rubbish was about five feet away from an empty bin.  There is no excuse.”

However, Paul did say that he had great support from fellow Knutsfordians who offered to come down and help pick up the rubbish after hearing about his ‘one-man mission’ on Facebook and Twitter. 

Clr Andrew Malloy alerted the Friends of the Moor after seeing Paul’s photos online.

He said: “I think it's disappointing that this happened, and may have been over exuberance on the part of students celebrating the end of term in the fine weather we've had recently, but we were all young once of course.

“On a positive note, I was really pleased to see on social media support and offers to help clear up the Moor, which just goes to show the pride local people have in the Moor, and the willingness to help out when needed.”