RIVER rubbish is at the root of concerns for a group of anglers who believe a picturesque Snowdonia village is left looking like a war zone after a busy weekend. Members of the Betws-y-Coed Anglers Club are appealing to the authorities to devise new strategies to deal with the litter problems in the Conwy Valley village. Tony Godert, river keeper of the club, said after a busy tourist weekend, residents were left with a scene that resembled something like a rubbish tip. He said: "Surely something has to be done to prevent these sights being witnessed by local people and visitors alike? "Council refuse staff who have to empty the overflowing bins are fighting a losing battle." Mr Godert, 33, who lives with his wife Sian and two young children in the village, said many of the club members had complained to him. He added: "It is a disgrace that our villages and rivers are being polluted with beer bottles and cans, polystyrene chip trays and paper wrappings." Mr Godert has come up with his own idea to help fight the ongoing problem and suggested that a scheme similar to the North Wales Police's Arrive Alive scheme could be put in place to catch people dropping litter in the act. He said: "A litter warden could issue 'on the spot' fines to these irresponsible litter louts and this would no doubt be a self-funding form of employment after seeing the state of Betws-y-Coed after just one weekend! "You never know they might even start issuing three points for each litter drop and after 12 points you could be banned from entering the National Parks for 12 months!" Coun Brian Cossey, cabinet member for the environment, said the ongoing problem with litter in tourist areas such as Betws-y-Coed was one of the reasons why the county council's environmental operative scheme had been implemented and confirmed the council was looking into on-the-spot litter fines. He said a group of three operatives plus a supervisor were now in place for the west side of the river in the Betws-y-Coed area and were working hard to deal with the rubbish problems. "But the key is to educate people to stop them dropping litter in the first place," he added. "The big road sweeper goes through Betws-y-Coed every morning and the centre of the village is treated virtually the same as the main parts of Llandudno and we have a permanent street cleaner in Betws as well." Clean Up Conwy: See page 39. | 
