It all started on Facebook when Alan Fletcher replied to a comment about how messy his beloved town Leek had become.
Someone came back at Alan by saying ‘we pay council tax – the council should clean it up’.
That got Alan thinking. We all pay council tax but realistically litter is dropped by people – that’s how it gets there.
Watching the conversation unfold on Facebook was Sammi Pickering, Leek born and bred and someone who has exactly the same outlook as Alan.
Sammi sent Alan a private mesage and out of that online conversation the idea the ‘Love Where You Live’ idea was born.
The desire to get Leek residents out on Valentines Day to tidy up the streets of the town made Alan & Sammi ‘partners in GRIME’ their words…. not mine!
Both are of the opinion that Leek folk love where they live. Local people are out and about enjoying their daily lockdown excercise allowance. Most stay local and can unwittingly contribute to the litter issue.
Alan and Sammi decided to set up a Facebook Page to encourage residents to participate – you can join the page here. The page already has over 260 ‘likes’.
It’s worth noting that Alan and Sammi have never met and only spoke with each other for the first time the day before this interview. The power of ‘online’ obviously.
So this Valentines Day 14th February 2021 the group want you to show your love for your town as well as each other. If you can get out and pick some litter or clean up some pet mess – in the words of this fantastic community led initiative – you can help ‘make Leek beautiful again’.
Moorlands Radio’s News & Sports Editor Tony Walley spoke to both Alan and Sammi recently and he started by asking Alan how the idea came about:
