According to Correio da Manhã (CM), 63-year-old Ian West spends over three hours every morning removing rubbish and debris from the roadside, becoming a familiar sight to those travelling through Tavira.
Working every morning between 6am and 9am, the newspaper states the former soldier from Nottingham has already cleared enough refuse to fill 137 bin-bags.
Addressing his early start, Mr. West told CM: “I do this every day, from 6am to 9am or a bit later. Traffic is calmer at this time and it is safer. I collect plastic bottles, paper, cans ... A bit of everything”.
Resident in Conceição de Tavira for five years, Ian West said, he took matters into his own hands because he did not like to see the roadsides littered, and believes it is “a civic duty”.
He said, he also wants to keep fit for a charity walk he plans to do in the UK in support of an organisation that trains dogs for the blind.
“Between October this year and August 2019, I want to walk the coast of the United Kingdom, and by doing this I keep my legs flexible, because age is not forgiving”, he told the newspaper.
CM stresses the Briton does not blame local services for the rubbish on the EN125, and says dirty roads are not a problem exclusive to Portugal.
“Unfortunately there are dirty roads everywhere. I am just giving a little back to society for living here. [Local services] try to do everything but with little time and money, so if I can help ... I do this to relieve them of some of the work”.
The expat vows to keep up his good work even as the heat intensifies, and CM reports, “He promises he will not stop picking up trash to clean the place he calls home”.