Sue Medcalf, from Lanner in Redruth, has been tirelessly litter picking on her large estate in mid Cornwall for many years now after taking after her mum who was also known as the ‘litter picking lady of Lanner.’
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the importance of community into sharper focus as individuals and groups go to extraordinary lengths to support their neighbourhoods and LiveWest recognised Sue’s tireless efforts to improve the community.
Sue Medcalf said: “It has been a privilege and pleasure to help other people and I am delighted that I along with the Lanner community have been recognised for a LiveWest Community Star award.
“I like to keep busy and, with lockdown, it has given me a purpose. My husband had a pretty bad year last year health wise so needed to stay close to home. He is on the mend now and has become my helper.
“I like to keep the neighbourhood tidy with regular litter picking and the litter situation has definitely improved lately.
“Neighbours are very grateful and always thank me while out doing a tidy. Lanner is a lovely village so while keeping our little area tidy, we now go a bit further and do a litter pick while out for our daily walk. I'm sure I'm called the bag lady as I always have a bin bag with me!”
Sue has recently planted the wall of the surrounding playing field with cuttings from her own garden to brighten up the area, with neighbours bringing plants from their own gardens to add to the wall.
Sue said: “It's beginning to look really colourful now. The wall belongs to Lanner Parish Council and although they do a lovely job at keeping it trimmed I along with other residents wanted to add a bit more colour. I'm very lucky to have a nice group of people living around us, young and old.”
Mai Evans, Community Connector at LiveWest, said: ““I admire Sue for tenaciously tidying her neighbourhood and being such a good role-model for the young people in particular. I’ve often referred to her as the Litter-Lady of Lanner.”
The LiveWest Community Stars awards run on a quarterly basis and include two categories. One is open to individuals and the other to community groups. The awards recognise the efforts being taken to benefit LiveWest’s communities.
In the next round you can nominate yourself or someone else you feel deserves special recognition. LiveWest will award its quarterly Community Star individual winners with a £50 Love to Shop voucher, while issuing £100 for the quarterly winners in the community groups section. The money can be used to develop the services they are providing for the community. All nominations will be recognised on the LiveWest Website.
Leanda Flower, Community Investment Manager for LiveWest, said: “The Community Stars awards recognise acts of kindness and community spirit and demonstrate the lengths these fantastic people go to in order to support others.
“We want to hear more of these stories, and we are encouraging people to continue to nominate their community hero for our next set of awards in September.”
LiveWest’s customer InFocus group will be selecting the quarterly winners in both the individual and community groups categories.