Praise for 'Wombles' women cleaning up A9
Sutherland’s very own “Wombles” have been praised for their tireless voluntary efforts to remove roadside litter along the A9.
The two ladies, described by a Highland councillor as “angels of the north” and each in their 60s, have frequently cleared verges of the detritus over the past 18 months, saddened by the thoughtlessness of those who hurl rubbish from vehicles.
And yet, on one recent occasion, they were accused of being the troublemakers.
The two retired speech therapists were left struggling for words themselves when a passing cyclist glared at them after assuming they were serving some sort of community punishment.
He asked: “What have you done so bad, that you’ve got that job?”
The two friends and neighbours, Mary Soyka and Ann Bentall of Bridgend, Balvraid, between Golspie and Dornoch, told the Northern Times they felt driven to tidy stretches of the A9 and that the problem had increased over the years.
They are often seen with gloved hands picking up litter around Balvraid and roadside stretches at the Mound, south of Golspie, several hours a week.
Miss Soyka said: “Once there’s a lot of rubbish somewhere, people seem to add to it, it’s dreadful. We don’t like to see it. It looks terrible.
“The Mound often looks like a rubbish tip and it’s supposed to be a beauty spot.
“I was hoping to move on to other areas, but you have to keep re-doing it every week, so I haven’t been able to.”
- Much more on this story in today’s NT