30/08/2026
Michelle & Jamie’s 12 Hour Litter Pick for MacMillan Cancer Support (this is a shortened read - but still get a cuppa!)
We started at 7am at Newport Bridge with 12 hours of picking up other people’s discarded rubbish in the hope that you lovely people would throw some money our way that we could give to MacMillan Cancer Support. On average 970 people are diagnosed with cancer every day in the UK and it touches us all in one way or another. Thank you to everyone who has donated either via the fundraising page or by giving us cash in person. No matter how small the amount, it makes a big difference when it is all pooled together.
🟢Newport Bridge – 28 bags plus 2 bags of recycling.
We were joined by Jon who brought Dolly Parton (via the speaker on his back) and by David. They were awesome. We bumped into Tanya who is also a MacMillan fundraiser - great to meet you 👋🏻
🟢Portrack Lane bottom end – 19 bags plus 2 bags of recycling near to Wickes
At the Haverton Hill end of Portrack Lane we were joined by Jackie, Graeme, Lynne, Tony and Sue. Both and Jon and Graeme left us at this point but not before Jon bought us both a coffee from Greggs – it was very welcome! Thank you Jon. ☕️
To get to Portrack Lane we had to walk along the footpath which has a large concrete barrier between that and the road on one side and on the other is the A19 flyover and underneath that is a hell hole of rubbish but because of the way that it all gathers together the footpath and a fence just trapped it all. It was awful, it was just awful and we hated it. We were very grateful to the cyclist who went past and thanked us for making the world a better place – it was so well timed! We were boosted by seeing Graeme who as always was a superstar and carried bags to a collection point for us and then we met up with Sue and Tony.
We headed on from there towards MacDonalds where we had lunch with Jackie and Graeme and spotted Diane and Paul who joined us for the trek towards Asda.
A lovely lady gave us £5 💴 towards our funds – thank you so much. When we left there another lady gave us £2 💴 as they were at the traffic lights – thank you so much. As we carried on past the hedges at B&Q we could see that this section is in dire need of some attention and we saw a deceased hedgehog which is so sad. This is on the list for one of our now famous Mega Picks! We were now boosted by Claire who came from Northallerton to help us – now that is commitment to the cause of being a Keep Britain Tidy Litter Heroes Ambassador! She brought her inimitable sense of humour and made Jamie stand near a sign for the Fun Shack but his face did not agree! Ha ha
Albert had also arrived to help us, his effort was also appreciated given that he had not long arrived back home from being on holiday – it was good to see your face Alberto!
🟢15 bags left near Asda.
Shortly after that a sit down and another cup of coffee was in order so me and Claire headed to Starbucks and then Jamie made some unwelcome gestures towards Michelle and no one is sure why, he pretended that his shoe laces needed to be tied! This is also where Albert was a thorn between two roses but I’m sure he was confused and got it the wrong way round.
🟢We left 7 more bags and a bag of recycling near to Jump 360
Portrack Lane is a long road, Claire wanted to die at one point and was geographically challenged. Nev and Jacky joined us and along with Lady Karan of the Village of Thornaby – we were most delighted! Claire was relieved when the end of Portrack Lane appeared and showed us exactly how big it was. And then David came back for his round 2 and brought his youngest daughter and my word did she get stuck in too.
🟢Another 3 bags left at the top of Dugdale Street.
🟢Just over the road at Hill Street East we left another 7 bags and Claire forced David to drop her off at her car which she had left near Asda – thank you for doing that David.
The Portrack Lane bag total was 32. 🥳
🟢Church Road – 6 bags
We carried along Church Road, at the point we consisted of Michelle, Jamie, Nev, Jacky, David, his daughter Eleanor, and the Lady Karan. The bushes along the side of road appear to be used a household waste dumping site and is another area that would benefit from some specific attention – that didn’t stop Jamie climbing up steps and flinging cans and bottles at Michelle! How Rude!
When we made it to the part of Church Road near to the Hampton Hotel we were joined by Tony and Sue for their round 2.
🟢 We left 6 bags near Roundabout Kitchen.
By this time the aches and pains were really setting in and there were points when Michelle was doing waddling duck impressions – drugs were needed – David thought he had some but it turns out that they were Rennie’s and they just weren’t going to hit the spot so a stop at the pharmacy was in order. Drugs taken and we soldiered on but David and Eleanor left us here, thank you both so much 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
🟢Bishopton Lane – 3 bags
Bishopton Lane gave us three bags – the majority of which came from around the Mulberry Tree pub and a bush at the Leeds Hotel. This is where Lady Karan took a break to have a Malibu and Coke because she is a classy lady after all. This is also the location that Jamie was told he looked like a copper by two natives of the parish and they took some convincing that he was a volunteer raising money for cancer, they only accepted this when they scanned the QR code – but I don’t think it progressed to a donation!
From here we went to Nelson Terrace along into the town centre and along the High Street but there was very little here for us to do other than take a photo at the fountain. West Row however – different story!
🟢West Row to Yarm Lane – 8 bags
West Row is almost like a back street but with car parks and some shops and bars, we were heckled by someone out on the lash who made a donation of £1.25 once he realised what we were doing – apparently every little helps. Lynne came back for her part 2 and we came across a mess in the one of the car parks and there was some excitement at pants 🩲 – pants 🩲 will never not be funny! By this point it was 6.20 and the finish was well and truly in sight.
🟢8 bags were left at Yarm Lane which had already been collected by Care For Your Area by early morning.
We crossed over Riverside Road and found a horror story near to the headquarters of Tees River Rescue 🛥️ 🛟 – another location to go back to but we did what we could in the time we had left. We then walked along the riverside and saw so many swans 🦢
It’s quite amazing how many there are on the river and it’s a sign that the river itself can’t be so bad.
🟢The final stretch – last 3 bags
After we passed the Teesside Princess we arrived at Riverside Park and Lady Karan had a go on the slide – the slide is an absolute genius addition to the park and there have been so many people (adults!) use it and if you are curious then just go and give it a try. Again there was very little litter here for us to collect and we had a walk to Finkle Square where we finished at 7pm and left the final 3 bags on the High Street. We took more photos, some of which are reminiscent of scenes from a Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer sketch when the back and leg pain kicked in again – some of the pain was from laughing at the state of us!
❤️💚All the way round we had a blast, we were supported by amazing people who wanted to help us reach our route target and our funding target. We are both incredibly grateful for the help, support and encouragement all the way round.💚❤️
🥳Thanks also go to Jamie’s better half, Jen. She kept on the receiving end of the photos and information from the day to add to the page Michelle and Jamie's 12 hour Charity Litter Pick so people could see where we were up to for the money that had been donated. Fabulous job Jen, thank you. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
The totals are:
💚93 green bags
💙10 recycling bag (2 are still in my van)
🤮8 pairs of pants
💷over £800 raised on the crowdfunder page with some cash donations still be added. Our target had been £750.
If you want to donate please check the comments for the link. 🔗 💚
Macmillan Cancer Support
