Huge amounts of rubbish cleared from River Itchen by Bitterne Park pensioner

But that did not stop the grandfather- of-two clearing up a stretch of Southampton water – simply because no one else would do it.

He was so fed up with the piles of shopping trolleys and discarded bikes rusting on the banks of the River Itchen that Ralph decided enough was enough.

“No one else was doing it, so I thought I would,” was the frank reply, when asked why a man in his twilight years would take on four hours of back-breaking work.

“I just decided something needed to be done about it because it had been there for so long,” he added.

In just a 100-metre stretch of riverbank, Ralph, of Priory Road, St Denys, dredged up something in the order of 30 bikes, several shopping trolleys half a dozen video players, part of a vacuum cleaner and a pair of binoculars.

Drinking a well-earned cup of tea Ralph, still dressed in a shirt and tie beneath his trademark green overalls and blue Breton cap, said of his haul: “Some of it had barnacles all over it and seaweed so you couldn’t tell what it was. I can’t understand why people throw this sort of stuff in the river – it’s terrible.”

Using his trusted tug and a wartime barge, he and a friend lifted each mangled wreck out of the mudflats by hand and quickly built up a mountain of junk.

“I got wet feet but apart from that no injuries to speak of,” he added.

Ralph’s work has won him praise from those whose homes back on to the banks at Saltmarsh.

Resident Steve Ambler said: “It’s great that he has taken it on and is doing something about it.”

It is unclear which authority is responsible for cleaning up the banks as the area falls between Southampton City Council and Crown land. However, the city council heaped praise on Ralph.

Jon Horton, parks and streets cleansing manager said: “This community spirit is an example to us all.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said they would get involved if the rubbish became a flood risk.

The only remaining question is what Ralph will do with his mountain of junk.

“I will see if I can scrap it, but to be honest I am not really sure,” he added.