A ST JOHN’S woman is picking up litter in the local area for a month to raise money for Christian Aid after its street collections were halted by coronavirus.

Lynda Shore has been organising the Knaphill Christian Aid collection since 1982, raising up to £3,000 a year to help people in need.

Lynda, who goes to Knaphill Methodist Church, said the door-to-door collections are particularly helpful to the charity as it raises money from people who don’t usually give.

She said she decided to try and make up at least a bit of the shortfall from the cancellation of street collections and thought she could help the local environment, while also getting a bit more exercise herself.

Lynda aims to spend 20 hours during September collecting rubbish in Knaphill, St John’s and Brookwood, while hoping to raise £500 through a Justgiving page set up by her daughter Rachel.

“It’s not that difficult to find rubbish; I filled one bag walking 200 yards from my house,” Lynda said.

She said her routes are a bit random and involve keeping away from groups of people.

“The things I’m collecting including things like tin cans that are never going to break down. I find quite a bit of litter in the hedgerows,” she said.

Lynda said that, so far, her litter collecting has been done in sunshine but she is determined to continue even if the weather turns cold or wet.

“Christian Aid helps everyone, not just Christians, and has been hit very hard like all charities,” she added.

For more information or to make a donation, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lyndashore.