'My mental health breakdown sparked a litter-picking movement'

How far can you walk down your street without spotting a piece of litter?

For many of us, it's hard to move even a few paces without coming across a stray crisp packet, a bottle top or cigarette butt.

But in Plymouth, an army of volunteers is working to clean up the city's streets as part of one organisation called Clean Our Patch.

Hundreds come together to take part in litter picks across the city, creating a feeling of unity and purpose among its volunteers.

But despite it's positive impact on the community, the initiative actually grew out of moments of darkness for its founder, El Clarke.

"Clean Our Patch began with me having a nervous breakdown," El told ITV News.

"I had a real hard time in the job that I was doing and my mental health went down the toilet completely.

"I got really ill and I got really depressed. I didn't want to leave the house, I didn't want to socialise. I didn't want to do anything.

"My husband, Ash, decided we were going to get some litter-pickers and we were just going to go to litter pick the street - just as a way to get out of the house."

The couple shared their day out with their friends on social media and soon found themselves inundated with offers from people who wanted to join them.

Clean Our Patch is now made up of 43 groups of litter-pickers working across the city and works with almost 50 schools.

"We never expected what has happened to happen. It's been amazing and it's been a really, really fabulous journey of meeting so many wonderful people and creating friendships where normally they wouldn't have.

"We call ourselves a mad litter-picking family and anyone who joins Clean Our Patch becomes part of that family. We support each other and we look after each other, it's just about love and kindness and doing something really positive."

She said the amount of litter the group pick up every month is "monumental", with most of it made up of single-use plastic like bottles, crisp packets, sweet wrappers and cans.

"We pick up anywhere between 1,500 and 2,000 bags a month from across the city. I think it would probably be waist-high if we weren't doing what we were doing."

"You find some really cool old litter, which is always quite good fun. Finding stuff from when I was a kid in the 90s - we found mini Smarties the other day which was brilliant and I felt like a right child again."

But despite the nostalgia inspired by some of the group's discoveries, El says the 'reality' of the litter issue is far more sinister.

"The reality of it is that all of this stuff is not going anywhere and it never will. It's part of the mission is that we will start clearing those historic 'grot spots' as we call them."

The organisation brings people together from all ages and from right across the city.

"Our youngest litter picker is three and our oldest is 81," El said. "We're not just bringing together people from the same area and the same place, but we get people coming from across the city coming out with us."

She told ITV News she thinks anyone who wants to make a difference in their communities has the power to spark genuine change.

"It doesn't even have to be litter-picking," she said. "We've got people who can't come and litter-pick with us and so they'll make a tea and coffee after. Or we've got someone who donates biscuits.

"It's not just about litter-picking, it's about community."

Plymouth City Council works with the group by collecting the waste and taking it to the local waste-to-energy incinerator.

The burning litter boils water which powers water turbines that provide electricity for 33,000 homes in the city.

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