A PUPIL from Norton Hill Primary has been working hard during the school holidays to clean up the local area, all whilst raising vital funds for charity.

George Barley-Lockett, age 7, has been taking part in a six week sponsored litter pick with his family, cleaning up the streets of Midsomer Norton and raising money for local charity Time Is Precious. So far, George has raised £170 for the Radstock-based charity, and is eager to keep going. His initial litter-picking fundraiser ran from June to August, but George is keen to do some more before the end of the school holidays.

George explained why he decided to do an initial six-week litter pick: “Litter hurts the environment and without the environment, there will be no us. 

“It made me feel very emotional and happy to raise all that money and I am proud.” 

George’s mum, Catherine Lockett, explained how they chose their charity and fundraiser challenge: “Time is Precious is a charity I came across last year when I was looking at ways that George’s school could build some positive community links via the PTA that I work on.  

“I suggested that we take something we already do and see if we can raise money and awareness for the charity. 

“George has hated litter ever since he was very small. We enjoy nature and walking in the countryside and we get upset at the amount of litter we see. When we were walking to school, he would always stop to point it out and get cross so I promised we would get some litter picking equipment.”

After getting their equipment, George and his mum joined the local Wombles group and have been litter picking locally for about a year.

Catherine added: “It seemed the perfect combination to raise money whilst we were out and about litter picking, and we wear our charity gear when we were out to raise awareness.”

Nicky Halford, co-founder of Time Is Precious said: “We send our heartfelt thanks to George for his outstanding efforts in raising funds for Time is Precious. George's commitment and innovative approach to fundraising have made a significant impact, and we are deeply grateful that he chose Time Is Precious charity as the beneficiary of his incredible initiative.

“The funds raised will play a crucial role in our upcoming refurbishment projects at the Royal United Hospital (RUH). Time is Precious has a proud history of transforming hospital environments to make them more welcoming and less clinical for children and their families.”

Recently, Time Is Precious have completed three refurbishment projects at the RUH, helping to make the Orthodontics Waiting Area, ENT Waiting Area and ceiling of the Anaesthetics Room more inviting and child-friendly.

Nicky thanked George for his fundraising efforts, which will help the charity to undertake their next major refurbishment project at the RUH. The charity will confirm the project in the next few weeks.

If you would like to donate to George’s fundraiser, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/catherine-lockett-1717840940172