Rebel faction of the WI flout rules banning them from litter-picking

A splinter group of the Women’s Institute near Salisbury has vowed to defy a ban on litter-picking that was imposed following the Novichok attack.

Villagers across Wiltshire were told to stop picking up rubbish three years ago in case it contained the deadly nerve agent, which hospitalised former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33.

Jenny Finch, president of WI Whiteparish, hit out at the ‘ridiculous’ ban, and admitted her group have been picking up rubbish throughout last year ‘because we are proud of where we live’.

‘The litter is absolutely disgraceful,’ she said. ‘It is disgusting. Some places are like a rubbish dump. Litter attracts litter.’

Health bosses at Public Health England (PHE) are currently deciding whether to lift the ban but it could take ‘several weeks’.

This could scupper the hopes of several villages hoping to enter this year’s Best Kept Village competition.   

Countryside charity the Wiltshire CPRE said at least 12 villages were out of the running this year, as being litter-free is essential to winning the coveted award.

Project officer Mike Manson said: ‘One of the reasons why we run the competition is that it is a jolly good way of getting villages to look a lot better, with a lot less litter around.

‘Litter is obviously a significant factor in the judging criteria.’

Mr Manson said he thought the villages affected would not want to enter, adding: ‘But that would entirely be their decision.’

Tory Wiltshire Councillor Richard Britton, who represents the villages affected, said: ‘It will be several weeks before we hear anything.

‘It is most disappointing that somebody cannot make a decision more quickly than that.

‘Of course Wiltshire Council cannot advise people to ignore it – that would be entirely wrong. The policy still stands. But the risk has passed.’

Months after the Skripals were poisoned with Novichok, mum-of-three Dawn Sturgess died after coming into contact with the nerve agent in Amesbury, eight miles from Salisbury.

A PHE spokesperson said: ‘As a precaution PHE continues to advise the public not to pick up any items.

‘The advice remains “if you didn’t drop it, then don’t pick it up.”’

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