Meet the Lancaster man who's declared war on weeds and is singlehandedly cleaning up the streets

Luke Clark, a self-proclaimed ‘Resident Weed Remover’, has spent the past few months clearing weeds from areas which have become overgrown including Heysham bypass, Middleton roundabout, Hest Bank level crossing, the pavements next to Ryelands Park and most recently, around Bare.

Earlier this summer, the Lancaster Guardian reported on numerous complaints from local residents about weeds making them ashamed of their area which some described as a tip.

“Rather than just sitting on my sofa and criticising, I decided to do something about it,” said Luke, 32.

“I’ve found that it’s good for my mental health because it gives me a purpose.”

Luke, who currently lives in Lancaster, is on disability benefit following an accident in 2013 which left him with some deafness.

He has set up a Facebook page displaying before and after photographs to inspire other people to tackle weed problems in their own area or contact him about places they think he could improve https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=resident%20weed%20remover

He’s currently a one-man weeding band but sometimes residents who see him at work will join in while others have offered him food and drink and even donations towards his gardening equipment.

Luke has met with Lancaster City Council’s public realm team who initially provided him with some equipment and continue to supply green bags which they collect once he’s weeded an area.

In 2020, Lancashire County Council regained responsibility for maintaining roads, pavements and back alleys after years of contracting the city council to do it but last year, it was late summer before county’s plan began and complaints followed.

County had hoped to start weed treatment earlier for 2022 but owing to issues with contractors, spraying didn’t begin until the end of May. A second round of spraying was expected to begin at the end of August.

Two more staff were due to be recruited by the city council this month to cover public realm areas and next year, county plan to start treating weeds in March and April to produce a better outcome.

In the meantime, Luke can be seen several times a week doing his bit to improve the area.