LETTER TO THE EDITOR:- "THE STATE OF FORMBY BEACH"

"DURING the month of May my husband and I visited various parts of England including Worcestershire, Yorkshire and Lancashire. During our visit to Lancashire on the 24 May 2010, we went walking in the Pinewoods at Formby, which were beautiful, climbed the outstanding sandhills and came out onto the beach! Imagine our shock at the disgusting scene of garbage strewn all over the beach, needless to say we were absolutely appalled at the sight. On top of this on entering the area there were notices stressing that no alcohol was allowed, but it was glaringly obvious that people had totally ignored these instructions. We saw police on the beach riding on dune buggies, why had they not inflicted fines on these people? The money collected in fines would probably be sufficient to pay for clean up teams.  I would also like to say that having been to various parts of the world, including Columbia, South America, we have never seen such a disgusting mess as we saw on Formby beach. I would be ashamed to recommend people to visit this area I just hope that as people are becoming more aware of the beauty and subsequent possibility of encouraging visitors to the North West of England thus helping the economy, something will be done to ensure the pristine beauty of this area."  Denise Murphy, Ontario, Canada.

Editors note:- "Thank you for your email. We will get in contact with Sefton MBC this week for you and find out what they have to say.   We are sorry you did not  link your visit and would encourage you, if you are back in the UK to re-visit as Formby Beach is often one of the cleanest in the UK and has held the Blue Flag award on many occasions."

Mayor of Sefton's Charity Fund - Do You Need Help?

GROUPS or individuals who are in need of funds are asked to apply to the Mayor of Sefton's Charity Fund (Formby Branch). Formby's group of intrepid volunteers have been busy raising money all year to help those in need in the local community. Any group or individual from Formby and Hightown should apply to Judi Pyke on:- glyn.pike@virgin.net. Last year the previous Mayor and Mayoress of Sefton, Cllr. Alf Doran and Cllr. Gill Cuthbertson had 'music' as the theme for their year in office. Therefore, any applications with a musical bias will be welcomed, though anyone can apply. Dr. David Bosworth, Chairman, Formby Branch, Mayor of Sefton's Charity Fund.

Put UR bins out 2moro

LIVERPOOL City Council is launching a brand new text messaging service telling residents when to put their bins out.  All householders need to do is text BINS, your house number and postcode to 62233 and they’ll get a message letting them know what day their bin collection is and what bins are to be put out.

And it doesn’t end there. From then on, a text will be sent every week on the day before the collection as a continuous reminder. Once residents feel they don’t need a reminder, they can just opt out by texting ‘Stop Bins’ to 62233.  The text messages will be charged at standard network rates, and you will only be charged for the texts you send to 62233 – not for the messages you receive.

The new service comes as the city council is set to introduce the biggest shake-up to the collection service in its history. From Monday, 14 June 2010, 80 per cent of the city’s residents will have a brand new collection day on which they’ll put out both their waste (purple) bin or black bag and one of their recycling (blue/green) bins or boxes.

Leader of Liverpool City Council, Councillor Joe Anderson, said:- “Most people have mobile phones, and text messaging is a great way to find out essential information. We all have busy lives, so it couldn’t be easier getting a message to remind you to put out your bins.  The text message is just one way you can find out what your collection day is – calendars have been sent to every household and we’re also encouraging people to visit our website or call Liverpool Direct.  We’re sure the new bin service will be a positive change for residents and as a result we will improve our recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill.”

Residents can find out their collection day by visiting liverpool.gov.uk and click on ‘My Neighbourhood’ or call Liverpool Direct on 0151 233 3001. Everyone should have received their calendar by now, but if you haven’t please call:- 0151 233 3001.

The change will not only make life easier for residents but will also reduce the city’s carbon footprint – which means the amount of carbon dioxide we save is the equivalent of planting 500 trees a year.  Around 360,000 bin collections are made every week – totalling a massive 19 million collections a year. Currently, for every 100,000 bins collected, only 27 are missed, but it is hoped that as a result of the change, this number will fall even further.

The new system works like this: Residents put their purple household refuse bin (or black bag) every week. They also put out, on alternate weeks, their garden waste (green) bin or recycling (blue) bin or box. All collections will be made on the same day.