Unsung hero cleaner is streets ahead

Paul Kay, 70, who has been deaf from birth and lip reads, is a familiar face to children and dog walkers who all greet him on their daily walks and on their way to school every day.

He is a street cleaner for Lancaster City Council, keeping the streets free of litter and dog poo.Residents have said Paul goes above and beyond the call of duty in his job, even writing letters featured in The Visitor praising him.

Paul said: “I have been working for the council for 11 years, five in my home village of Heysham.

“My patch extends from Cross Cop to the roundabout at Middleton so I would say I walk 10 miles and pick up between 15 and 20 bags of litter each day. Autumn is the busiest season where I might pick up 30 bags per day because of the falling leaves.

“Even though I am working, I do find it very relaxing and enjoy meeting local residents on my travels.

“In Heysham, some areas are spotless but there are quite a few untidy areas too. The most common types of litter appears to be cigarette packets, lottery cards, empty beer cans, receipts and of course dog poo, with or without the bag. One habit I hate the most is finding dog poo bags that have been thrown into hedges, left at the bottom of lamp posts or pushed into cracks of walls.

“Even so, the job I have now is the best job I have ever had and if I was to retire I would miss all the wonderful people I come across in Heysham.”

Mark Davies, Chief Officer (Environmental Services), said: “I know the vast majority of residents really value the efforts of all our staff who work so hard for our area. It’s great when they take the effort to praise the work individuals like Paul undertake.”