WOKING Litter Warriors, formed little more than a month ago, has sealed a significant sponsorship deal with fast-food chain McDonald’s for the supply of equipment and personnel for litterpicks.

“We’re delighted to welcome McDonald’s on board, joining Optichrome and Experience Events as primary Litter Warriors supporters,” said group founder Lauren Horncastle.

“We’ve also started discussions with one of the major coffee chains about how they can help us rid the streets and verges of Woking of rubbish discarded by thoughtless consumers.”

Mark Schweizer, who owns the franchise for all three McDonald’s outlets in Woking, said: “We’re very pleased to support the Warriors in cleaning up Woking.

“McDonald’s has been carrying out litter patrols from all our restaurants since 1982 but this initiative from Lauren will extend the range of rubbish clearing over a much wider area.”

Since the Warriors Facebook group was started towards the end of February, more than 70 people have joined and a presence on Instagram already has a substantial following.

Two litterpicks have been conducted in the area, on and around Lockfield Drive and Westfield Road, the latter in conjunction with the Westfield Co-op.

A further litterpick is planned for Sunday 24 April, based around the Cricketers pub in Horsell. All volunteers are welcome and, thanks to McDonald’s, the Warriors should be able to provide litterpicking equipment to newcomers. 

 “The response has been great,” Lauren added, “but we’re always looking for new members as it’s quite a labour-intensive exercise. The more people that come along, the more territory we can clear.

“We’ve already collected more than 30 bags of assorted rubbish as well as car parts, tyres and discarded road signs, but I’d like to get close to 100 bags before summer, when the verges become too overgrown to clear properly.”

For more information, visit the group’s Facebook site, Woking Litter Warriors, or email [email protected].