Seven-year-old girl campaigns for a cleaner Plough Pond

Seven-year-old Naomi Hilton-Brown became upset when she saw the amount of litter in the pond while walking past with her grandmother who lives nearby.

Mum Steph Hilton, who lives in Tolworth, said: “She was really quite upset with the rubbish there, and when she got back to my mum’s she took it upon herself to draw the poster."

The poster reads: “Don’t pollute the pond, because you are forcing the animals that live there to evacuate and find a new home. Take your rubbish home with you or find your nearest local bin.

“If you see anyone doing that, say ‘don’t do that’, and point them to a bin.

“Make this pond cleaner so animals can live there. From Naomi – age seven and eleven twelfths.”

Ms Hilton said: “She is quite conscientious, and she cares about animals. She was worried that if people keep putting rubbish there then the animals wouldn’t have a place to live.

“When talking about the animals she said they were having to ‘evacuate’ the pond – strong but cute words for a seven-year-old.”

A clean-up effort is planned for the pond in March, and Naomi is planning to go and lend a hand.

Ms Hilton said: “I told her that other people cared as well, and she said that she’d like to help.”

A group of residents will go out to pick litter and clear the vegetation bordering Plough Green – after a nest inspection to ensure no wild birds are disturbed.

Organiser Chris Newman said: “The idea is we want to try to turn it into something the community can feel proud of. We want the community to be involved as much as possible.

“We don’t get much feedback on how much people care about the pond – especially younger people. It’s nice to see that they take notice and feel ownership and want to see it maintained and respected.

“And to see her put so much effort into the poster was great. It’s really nice to see.”

The tidy-up group will meet at the Plough Green at 12pm on Saturday, March 10.