Seven tonnes of rubbish cleared from Lewes bonfire

Lewes District Council’s environment first team battled through horrendous weather to collect tonnes of rubbish left by visitors to the bonfire.

Some 30,000 revellers came to the town for the celebrations and a total of seven tonnes of waste.

The aftermath of the celebrations (Image: Lewes District Council)

The annual clean up by the waste team takes place during the night to ensure the town is clean ready the following morning.

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"The weather worsened as our brilliant environment first team went out into the night to pick up all the rubbish left over from the bonfire procession and revelry,” said Councillor Julie Carr, cabinet member for waste and recycling.

"It really is a herculean effort and this year the conditions were close to impossible as the wind speed increased and the rain lashed down. 

“To remove seven tonnes of rubbish before the morning was nothing short of incredible." 

The High Street during the event (Image: NQ Staff)

Sixteen staff members and three mechanical sweepers worked through the night from 1am to 7.30am.

"It is all too easy to overlook some of the roles played by all manner of dedicated workers, often behind the scenes, to make big events like bonfire a great success,” added Cllr Carr.

“I'm very happy to shine a light on Environment First for their essential contribution to bonfire celebrations in Lewes."