A Lancaster dad has taken it upon himself to help clean up the River Lune.

Rowan Wood is spending hours each week pulling abandoned shopping trolleys, bikes and other debris from the river.

The 37-year-old dad-of-four began what he calls a “personal mission” after seeing some of the mess while walking his children to school, and it’s quickly grown from basic £60 equipment to something far more technical.

"I live near the Marsh estate and walk my children to school along the quay,” he said.

The River Lune with abandoned trolleys shown stuck in the mud.

placeholder image — The River Lune with abandoned trolleys shown stuck in the mud.

“Like most locals, I was tired of seeing the river choked with trolleys and bikes.

"After a chat with Phil, the manager at Sainsbury’s, I decided to stop waiting for a solution and become one.

"I started with about £60 of basic rope and gear. On my first evening, I pulled out 11 trolleys.

"Once I realised how much of an impact one person could make, I invested in professional equipment to make the process safer and more efficient."

Some of the debris Rowan Wood is cleaning from the River Lune.

“My father, Ronald Wood, was also a big influence – he ran Olympia Commercial Cleaners for years. I suppose ‘cleaning up Lancaster’ is in my blood.”

To date, Rowan has recovered more than 1.5 tonnes of material, including 38 shopping trolleys, 14 bicycles, a motorbike/scooter, wheelchairs and other debris.

Rowan recently retrained as a full-stack web developer specialising in cyber security and AI, and is able to use some of his tech experience in his clean-up work.

He also wears Meta camera glasses to film all his recoveries from a first-person perspective.

Rowan Wood pictured wearing the Meta glasses he uses to film his clean-up work.

"What makes this project unique is how I’m using my background in tech,” he said.

"I’ve built a dedicated web app to track every item recovered.

"This is an open-source tool that I hope can eventually be used by clean-up groups everywhere.

"Interestingly, back in 2006, I worked as a trainee civil engineer with Carillion during the construction of the flood defences along the quay where I now do my work!

Bikes pulled from the river by Rowan Wood.

"Lately, I’ve also become fascinated by the history of the river.

“The local history department at the library has been incredible, and I’m visiting the museums to look at archival images of the quay.

"I want to show people not just what the river looks like now, but the heritage we are trying to protect.”

Rowan has been supported in his work by local businesses.

"Sainsbury’s has been incredibly encouraging, and I have a partnership with another local firm that I’m excited to announce soon,” he said.

"I have recently received my first contribution via ‘buy me a coffee’, which can be found on the web app.

“My long-term goal is to register this as a Community Interest Company (CIC) with a trusted business partner.

"I want to create a sustainable, tech-backed system where waterways can be kept clear at no cost to the taxpayer, funded by the businesses that share the river with us and whose equipment we are recovering.”

Rowan has a final message to the people of Lancaster.

"It’s a deep-seated issue,” he said. “I recently found a newspaper archive from August 1996 describing the Lune as a “trolley dump.”

"The river has been neglected for decades, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. This is our shared space.

"I’ve had so many people stop me while I'm working – most are just shocked and grateful to see someone finally doing something.

"My message is simple: small, consistent actions can change anything.”

You can follow Rowan’s work on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577489848878 or on his website/app at www.rivercleanup.co.uk