Litter picker climbs Ben Nevis to collect rubbish

A retired social worker drove for eight hours and climbed several thousand feet to rid Britain’s highest peak of litter, it emerged today.

Robin Kevan, known affectionately as “Rob the Rubbish” filled six bin bags of rubbish on his two-day clean-up campaign on Ben Nevis.

But Mr Kevan, 60, of Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, remains modest about his achievements, describing himself as “just an ordinary guy who loves walking“.

The well-known local character gets up every day at dawn to clean the litter from the streets of his town, which is officially the smallest town in Britain.

But he decided to change the focus of his cleaning-spree when he heard a report on BBC Radio Five Live about the litter problem on the Highland mountain.

He spent two days, on November 3 and 4, picking rubbish off the mountain’s main access route, getting about halfway up to a height of 2,200 feet.

He brought down glass bottles, paper hankies, plastic goods, and bizarre items such as a first aid kit and a tent sack full of wet clothing.

“I heard about all this litter on Ben Nevis. I’m a ’doer’. I just get up and do things so I decided just to go,” he told the Scottish Press Association.

“It took me about eight hours to drive up there.

“When I got there I passed so many walkers and they all complained to me about the mess at the top.

“I was really, really concerned about Ben Nevis because I thought ’oh my god, this is so lovely’.

“I was just stunned by the whole area, it is such a gorgeous place.”

Mr Kevan now wants see the mountain get cleaned twice a year, hopefully next time with the help of some volunteers.

He is currently seeking the help of the John Muir Trust and the Nevis Partnership, who look after the mountain, to make the plan a reality.

And he is planning to set his sights on a similar project for Snowdon.

Explaining his motivation, Mr Kevan said: “I’m not angry about litter at all. I don’t want to be a grumpy old man.

“I’m ashamed about it. I like to see everywhere looking nice.

“It gets me up in the morning. I get exercise and the place looks good and people like it, so what more can you ask for?”