A POPULAR Wem litter picker has a new set of wheels thanks to the efforts of the community.

Carl Clutton, 36, has learning difficulties, and is a familiar face around Wem, often found patrolling the streets in his hi-vis jacket on the lookout for rubbish.

With the knowledge that Carl is also a keen cyclist, Sue Holliday, Tracey Bowers-Gourlay, Carole Roberts and Lynette Parker-Hanby came up with the idea to fund a new bicycle.

Before lockdown collection tins were place around town, with the money collected going towards funding a new bicycle for Carl, along with all the appropriate safety equipment and accessories.

Earlier this month Carl was presented with his new bicycle by Sue, who explained how the fundraiser came about.

"Before lockdown he decided to do litter picking and saw him up the town one day," said Sue.

"There was a lot of litter around, said he could do with some gloves and a picker. Now has a coat with his name on, hi-vis so it's safe.

"So many people said what a good lad he is and he loves his bike, so we thought why don't we start a collection to get him a good bike.

"Tracey put some tins in some local shops including Dedmans run by Carole.

"After a few weeks lockdown came upon us so we decided to count the tins. turns out we had £391 collected.

"So I emailed Halfords for what we would like and they messaged to say bikes were in short supply at the moment but they would see what they could do.

"They managed to source one and emailed back so my husband and I went to Meole Brace to collect the accessories and within an hour they had also delivered the bike to our home.

"The council has said that Carl can't litter pick at the moment because of the coronavirus, but as soon as he can he will be back out there on his new bike."