A Dunmow family who went a day’s angling on Friday ended up fishing – not for minnows but for Lego and other toys.
They were a party of four, mum Fiona Joy with her daughter Amara, 11, and son Ellis, and his friend Logan, both aged eight who decided to go fishing in the River Charmer in Great Dunmow, near the Maltings.
Fiona said: “When we got to the river, we were astonished to see a whole heap of household rubbish which had been thrown in the hedge and fallen into the river. There was a substantial amount. Some of the stuff was in black bags which had been torn open.
“There was a home phone, a lot of plates and a whole lot of toys. Some of them were expensive toys in good condition, there was Lego. I couldn’t understand why they hadn’t been taken to a charity shop.”
Fiona and the three children waded into the river and dragged the discarded items back up onto the bank where later they were cleared away by Uttlesford District Council.
Fiona said: “It took some effort to drag it all out. We didn’t catch any fish that day, we did go fishing but not for fish.”
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