‘I made it up as I went along’: Student who built bin bag dispenser for littered park overwhelmed by response

Jack Colmer started working on invention after being shocked by rubbish left at green spaces across UK

Bin bag dispenser designed by Jack Colmer in Woodhouse Moor, Leeds (Screengrab / BBC)

They were scenes that left millions of Britons feeling utterly bewildered.

When parks across the UK were left covered in rubbish after last week’s easing of coronavirus restrictions coincided with warmer weather, people all over the country took to social media to complain at the sheer level of littering.

But, while many shook their heads in frustration, one student decided to roll up his sleeves and take decisive action.

Jack Colmer designed, built and installed a home-made bin dispenser in Leeds’s popular Woodhouse Moor green space in the city’s Hyde Park area.

Now, after his wooden contraption went viral, the 22-year-old, who is originally from Newcastle, says he hopes it can inspire more permanent solutions at such places across the country.

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“It just annoyed me because I try and clean up after myself,” the Leeds Beckett University student said. "I do a lot of DIY and building in my spare time as a hobby so I just started putting something together, making it up as I went along, and it eventually ended up as a bin bag dispenser.”

Speaking to the BBC, he added: "The litter in the place was unacceptable and I think as a community we can do better than that.

"I genuinely believe that people don't want to litter but they never really have the supplies or the bin bags there on the day to do it so, hopefully, this will encourage people to go grab a bag and pick their stuff up."

The invention stands about 4ft tall, is made of all natural material and includes a handy bottle opener.

And the youngster’s efforts have since been rewarded with a £100 thank you bar tab at a local arts venue, while he has also received hundreds of messages of support from well-wishers.

"It’s been crazy,” he told the Yorkshire Evening Post. “I genuinely didn’t expect such a positive reaction, I just wanted people to be aware that there were now some bin bags in Hyde Park to tackle the issue of litter.

"But it’s had a great response and, fingers crossed, now we can get the ball rolling where we can provide some more permanent solutions for the parks.

"A bigger bonus if this could spread to other cities, as this isn’t something that only happens in Leeds."