LIFESTYLE TEAM HAILED FOR NEIGHBOURHOOD CLEAN-UP

The neighbourhood manager of East Hull-based charity EMS Yorkshire has praised a Lifestyle team for their tremendous efforts in cleaning up their community.

Girlz Only, part of a youth group at the East Hull’s women’s centre, Purple House, accepted Andy Rees’s invitation to do a litter-pick around the Preston Road Estate. It is one of a number summer activities in their debut year in the Lifestyle Competition, run by Humberside Police. The team is Cordie Walker, Courtney Rowan, Bethany Jackson, Selina Johnson and Natasha Rowan, all 13

They collected some 15 bags of rubbish from around the Portobello Street area, splitting the load into recyclables such as bottles, cans and paper. They have pledged to join Andy each week to repeat the exercise elsewhere on the Estate. They are being rewarded for their hard work with lunch from the Co-operative store on Preston Road.

Andy says: “They worked really hard and I was so pleased to have their help. They were prepared to improve their neighbourhood and put the effort in. They could be doing other things during their summer holiday but this shows real commitment.”

Robin Storry, Co-operative store manager, said: “These girls and their families are my customers so I was pleased to offer my support and keep them motivated. Kids can get a bad name especially when they are bored in the holidays, but Girlz Only are doing us proud.”
Cordie Walker, 13, said the team was looking to clean up along Preston Road this week and had plenty of activities underway: “We’re growing vegetables on an allotment to give away to the community, thanks to the help of Probe’s Food 360 Project, and we’re planning to have a bun sale to raise money for the Purple House.”