An anti-litter crusade featuring one man and his dog reached Helensburgh and Lomond this week – and the findings make uncomfortable reading for the area’s residents.

Wayne Dixon, from Blackburn in Lancashire, set out five months ago on a mission to walk the entire coastline of Great Britain with his dog Koda, picking up litter.

Wayne and Koda arrived in Helensburgh on Sunday, and had reached Kilcreggan by Monday afternoon – but Wayne told the Advertiser he was less than pleased at what he’d found along the way.

“It’s not good, really,” Wayne said. “From Helensburgh up to the peace camp at Faslane I filled three and a half bags of rubbish, and from the peace camp to Garelochhead there was a steady stream of broken glass, plastic bottles and cans.

“The most shocking bit was a layby just past Garelochhead, where I found coffee cups, cans, blue rubber gloves and fishing tackle wrappers. There were no bins, and no signs, and litter that needed quite a bit of attention.”

Wayne, a support worker by profession, set out with Koda from Knott End, north of Blackpool, at the beginning of February, after setting himself the twin aims of picking up litter and inspiring community groups to look after the environment around them.

And it seems his crusade is already having an effect on people living in the towns and villages he’s visited – with some even aware of his mission before he’s actually arrived.

“I’m fulfilling a lifelong dream of walking the British coast,” he said.

“When I got my dog, I was walking her around so many beautiful areas, but the amount of litter I found was doing my head in, so I decided walking the entire coastline would be a good platform to raise awareness of something I’m so passionate about.

“It’s not just about litter. My thinking is that to tackle any sort of environmental or social problem, you have to work your way from the ground up, and if we can create a cleaner or safer environment, that’s a good stepping stone.

“I want to break through the attitude that ‘it’s the council’s problem’, or ‘I pay my taxes and I’m keeping someone in a job’.

“The effect of litter on the appearance of our coastline, and the wildlife and humans who live there, needs to be tackled.

“I’ve seen some really good examples of people taking responsibility. In Kilcreggan, for example, someone put out a big oil drum for people’s rubbish.

“Things like that send a message: we’re the people who have to live here, so we’re going to do something about it.

“I’ve had a brilliant response from people in Scotland so far, and it’s just got better and better the further I’ve gone.”

Lomond North councillor and Garelochhead resident George Freeman said: “A great deal of the problem around the Gare Loch, Loch Fyne and Loch Long is that they are south- and west-facing lochs, and the prevailing wind tends to blow large amounts of marine litter towards the top of the lochs and on to the shore.

“The problem is trying to identify resources for the authorities to do it in the light of cuts in funding and staff.”

You can keep track of Wayne’s progress around Argyll and Bute, and the whole coastline, by searching Wayne Dixon on Facebook.