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Railway clean-up to take a year, volunteers say

Paul O'Gorman
BBC News, Lancashire
BBC/Paul O'Gorman Andy Pratt smiles as he wears a high-vis jacket and brown woolly hat while standing outside.BBC/Paul O'Gorman
Andy Pratt said "a brilliant team" from the probation service was helping clean-up efforts

A disused railway line in Lancashire, blighted by fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour, is being transformed into an "urban oasis", volunteers have said.

Several tonnes of rubbish have been illegally dumped along the Preston to Longridge railway line, near Skeffington Road in Deepdale.

Network Rail has started work with community groups to remove the waste and cut back overgrown vegetation in a project expected to take up to a year.

"We've already got 50 builders' bags we've filled just in two days," volunteer Andy Pratt said.

Network Rail Piles of rubbish mixed with foliage and overgrown trees littered all around the area. In the distance is a railway bridge with two volunteers in high-vis jackets standing underneath.Network Rail
Rubbish including old sofas, mattress and bikes have been abandoned on the former railway line

"There are nappies, children's toys, furniture," said Mr Pratt, 67.

"It's been happening since the line closed, it's probably 40 years' worth of junk," he added.

Community payback teams from the probation service are also helping.

BBC/Paul O'Gorman A grey metal fence with piles of rubbish behind it. In front are two black bin bags with cardboard and empty plastic bottles beside them.BBC/Paul O'Gorman
The area has been blighted by fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour

Mr Pratt said the idea was to make the space "into an urban oasis for Preston".

"There's a lot of trees grown up and brambles so we're clearing those," he said.

"We're going to do it a bit at a time, and the bit we've chosen to start is about a mile long, from Skeffington Road to the Miley Tunnel," the campaigner added.

BBC/Paul O'Gorman Annie Wynn, smiling wearing glasses. She has bright yellow hair with orange streaks in it, and is wearing a grey coat and green scarf.BBC/Paul O'Gorman
Annie Wynn from Let's Grow Preston said the area could become a wildlife corridor

Annie Wynn from Let's Grow Preston, a charity which runs community gardens, said the area could be transformed into a "spectacular" wildlife corridor.

"If we get some wildlife plants in, improve the biodiversity, this could be exactly what the planet needs, never mind Preston," she said.

Trains have not run along the line since the early 1980s, though the tracks are still visible.

Ian Croucher, who works for Network Rail, said: "It has been heart-breaking to see this old railway line being targeted by waste criminals."

BBC/Paul O'Gorman A fenced-off area over the train tracks which cut across a suburban road. Bags of rubbish can be seen through the fence and to the left are the backs of a row of terraced houses.BBC/Paul O'Gorman
The area has been targeted by fly-tippers since the line shut in the 1980s

"But now, thanks to the local community we have a plan to clear up the site so it can be used in a more positive way," Mr Croucher said.

"Unsightly waste like this near Skeffington Road is a health and environmental hazard," he said.

Network Rail has asked anyone who sees fly-tipping taking place on the railway to report it to British Transport Police.

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