A PRIMARY school pupil is hoping to raise awareness of the importance not dropping rubbish by carrying out his very own crackdown on litter.

And Daniel Walker, of Great Notley, has managed to raise hundreds of pounds for Farleigh Hospice after residents began donating cash as a thank you for his kind-hearted efforts.

The seven-year-old, who goes to White Court School, decided to set about tidying up the outdoors at weekends after spotting a supermarket carrier bag tangled up in bushes during a visit to the Great Notley Discovery Centre.

Mum Nicola Walker said: “He saw the bag in some bushes and decided to pick it up and he began using it as something to put other bits of rubbish in.

“It’s grown from there really - his main concern was for the wildlife which is down at the centre and the impact it can have on them.

“We were bumping into people while he was out and about and eventually someone suggested that he could raise a bit of money too.

“He finds all the things you might expect like plastic bottles and wrappers and because you have people fishing down there too you’ve got things like tin cans.”

Daniel has been getting in some extra hours during the Easter holidays and so far the youngster has managed to raise more than £730 for Farleigh in just under a week of fundraising.

He chose the hospice for his donations because it cared for his late grandmother before she passed away in 2015 and it has even given him a t-shirt with its logo on wear while he’s on his rounds.

Natalie said: “We’re extremely proud of him, he loves animals so he’s always been quite conscious of this sort of thing.

“He also wrote to his headteacher too to ask whether he can do a presentation for the other children about littering so he’ll be doing that during assembly in the next few weeks.

“I think he’s quite shocked by how much has been donated and it’s brilliant that people are doing so, but the main thing is raising awareness about littering and getting across the message that some of these things don’t degrade.”

Farleigh's Maz Keenan said: “I would like to thank Daniel for raising such a huge sum of money for the hospice, he has shown such initiative and a real passion for his community and environment.

"Daniel is a true inspiration and an entrepreneur in the making.”

Money can be donated in person or via facebook.com/donate/432217854248545.