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Twenty-four bags of rubbish have been collected from Caerphilly Castle moat thanks to the efforts of the town’s angling club.

On February 8, 18 members of Caerphilly Angling Club embarked on their annual moat clean-up – their biggest clean-up to date.  

This year, members were able to use a rowing boat, allowing them to cover most of the moat – something they had not done previously.  

Last year’s clean-up saw them collect 14 bags of rubbish from the water – but this year’s effort was even bigger – retrieving six traffic cones, one wooden pallet, one black bag full of individual plastic bags, and one teddy bear.

Club member Simon Ursell told Caerphilly Observer that the litter problem in the moat is only getting worse: “It’s so sad to see. It was 14 bags last year, and 25 this year – which is scarily more.”  

Mr Ursell also highlighted recent issue with people constantly fishing on the banks of the moat, without being a member.  

“You can’t fish there if you are not a member,” he said. “We met with the police last month, who are giving us the support needed to try and stop that happening. Unfortunately, we get a lot of people who want to fish there, but for safety reasons, we can only give out a certain number of memberships.” 

Caerphilly Council deputy leader Shayne Cook, who represents the Morgan Jones ward, said: “It’s truly sad to see so much rubbish being left near our much-treasured landmark. However, I want to personally thank the club and their volunteers for cleaning the moat and surrounding castle area.

“The club carry out litter picks throughout the year and due to their hard work, they are helping to protect our environment and local wildlife.”