Hundreds of illegally dumped tyres cleared from Paisley riverbank thanks to volunteers

On Sunday afternoon, the group spent more than four hours moving the tyres away from the White Cart Water, at Harbour Road in Paisley.

Paul Richardson, of Calamity Kayaking, regularly spends time cleaning the river and was joined by others who were keen to help get rid of the huge bundle of tyres that had been left by fly-tippers.

He said: “The tyres have been there for around eight years. According to the land register, the land belongs to the crown, so nobody really knows who it is and who’s responsible for it.

“I was happy to go in and volunteer to clean it up and appealed for people to join me.

“Some people were pulling the tyres up the wall. We joined canoes and paddleboards together, stacked the tyres on the canoes and on the paddleboards and ferried them across to a slipway.

“Renfrewshire Council said they will pick them up from there.”

Despite clearing around 250 tyres on Sunday, another few days of volunteering will be needed in order for the mess to be completely clear.

Paul said: “There’s a multitude of tyres that have grown in between the jaggy nettles over the years. It’s a lot worse than it looks.

“It’s a humongous task and we’re putting a shout out for anyone that can help to get in contact with me to arrange another outing.

“People learned to canoe, we cleaned up the environment, met new people and had a great day.

“A big thanks to everyone who came along – Jim, Alan, Ian, Nicole, Louise and Dave.”

Paul, who is a kayak instructor was joined by Patrick Harvie, Scottish Greens co-leader and MSP for Glasgow, in December last year when cleaning the river in Crookston.

The Paisley man has collected more than 600 bags of plastic bottles. He previously told the Glasgow Times the most unusual thing he has ever come across was a human finger.