The river Stour in Canterbury has become a “conveyor belt of rubbish”, say volunteers who have been filling sacks with litter and hauling out fly-tipping.

They donned their waders as part of the RiverFest Clean but were left overwhelmed by the scale of the problem.

But it is nothing new to Sian Pettman from the Friends of Kingsmead Field Village Green who has been helping to clear out the river of rubbish for 12 years.

She was among the volunteers recently working on the stretch from Barton Mill to Kingsmead Bridge.

“Over the years we have hauled out tons of rubbish from the river in the city centre but sadly it is not getting any better,” she said.

“It’s an absolute tragedy because the Stour is a rare and precious chalk stream and yet it is being disgracefully abused.”

The group filled 20 sacks with rubbish as well as removing corrugated plastic sheets, metal poles, netting, bin liners, a supermarket trolley, and a scooter.

But among the few interesting items was a helmet, thought to have belonged to a WWII soldier, which the group hopes to sell to raise money for some more equipment.

Sian says the relentless clear-outs have become “soul destroying”.

“I keep hoping there will be less of it, but it keeps on filling up like a conveyor belt.

“What really hurts is the effect it is all having on the river’s ecology, particularly the netting which is so dangerous to wildlife.”

Mrs Pettman says the stretch through Kingsmead is a particular blackspot, which she believes is due to the proximity of the supermarket car park and building and road works which are taking place.

“You can tell by the kind of stuff we are pulling out,” she says.

Volunteers have also had hold their noses because the stench of some of the debris is said to be vile.

“Of course, we wish we didn’t have to do it but there is a sense of a community job well done,” she said.

In 2021, the Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership revealed how the river was being treated like a vast rubbish dump

It followed a series of river cleans organised by the charity which that year resulted in thousands of bottles, cans, cigarette butts, food wrappings, plastic bags, clothing and face masks being removed.

The mountain of waste filled almost 270 bags. Also fished out of the river were 48 traffic cones, 18 shopping trolleys and 13 bikes.

The charity says the abuse is taking a terrible toll on wildlife, and has urged people to act more responsibly.