Tonnes of rubbish was bagged up during a super sewer clean up at Thames Island.

Around 30 people from Tideway, the company delivering the Thames Tideway Tunnel, volunteers from charity Thames21, along with local residents braved downpours and muddy conditions to get stuck into the clean-up operation on Chiswick Eyot on Friday (October 30).

The event was organised by Thames21 which is running a citizen science project to improve understanding of what litter is in the River Thames and where it comes from.

Mortlake resident and keen rower, Gemma Mann, said: “Being able to do my bit to help with Thames21 is really rewarding. It will be great to row down here tomorrow and see the island looking much cleaner.

“When you’re on the river you see all sorts of things floating past - especially when it’s raining and sewage is pouring into the river, it can be really disgusting. The Thames Tideway Tunnel can’t come soon enough for me.”

Main construction work on the tunnel is due to begin next year, and on completion will help tackle the millions of tonnes of sewage pouring into the tidal River Thames each year.

John Sage, Corporate Responsibility Manager at Tideway, said: “A lot of the rubbish we found was on the island as a result of sewage discharging into the Thames.

"It was shocking to see first-hand some of the litter that goes into our city’s iconic river via the capital’s toilets.”

AJ McConville from Thames21 added: “It was an excellent turnout despite the weather, and it was wonderful to see how much cleaner Chiswick Eyot looked after. Huge thanks are in order for the local residents and Tideway staff who took the time to help out.”

For more information visit Thames21

* Thames21 has arranged a foreshore clean-up at Broomhouse Dock in Fulham on November 20 from 1pm to 4pm; and at Kew Bridge (southside) on November 29 from 11am to 2pm.