Scouts' litter pick unearths vintage Victoria-era bottles
Scouts have unearthed a treasure trove of vintage discards during a litter-pick at their campsite near Bewdley.
Among the vintage litter they discovered was a Holbrook & Co sauce glass bottle dating back to circa 1890 to 1910.
They also discovered a Table Spoon glass bottle with Mil marking dating back to the 1830s which would have been in use through the Victorian era until the 1930s.
Another find made by the 21 scouts and three leaders - who took part in the litter-pick at the 14th Wyre Forest (Rhydd Covet) Troop's campsite between Kidderminster and Bewdley - was a Foster Clark Limited lemonade glass bottle which would have been in use from between 1910 and 1950.
Karen Blanchfield, aged 45, who lives near Stourport and is a director of Little Litter Warriors and a volunteer with Keep Britain Tidy, said: "The 21 scouts and three leaders took part in the litter-pick at their scout campsite as part of The Great British Spring Clean and I issued them with a challenge to hunt me out some old litter finds while they cleaned the site.
"To be fair the campsite was quite litter free and they struggled to find any discarded items but eventually stumbled on an area where some work was being carried out to improve the drainage at the site.
"The area had been dug up and there they found the buried Victorian litter that turned out to be among the oldest children taking part in my educational workshops had ever found.
"It turned out to be a true treasure hunt.
"The scouts have now taken the bottles home to wash and research and to discover when, where and who made the bottles and the dates they were in production.
"The scouts really did enter into the spirit of the occasion and were absolutely determined to dig up everything they could find.
"They unearthed a total of more than 40 glass bottles, glass jars and glass containers.
"They did a fantastic job and collected three full bags of litter.
"The best part about it all was that they went home raving about the litter pick and how they wanted to do more with their families and to hunt out what other treasure might be hiding in the countryside in Worcestershire.
"Each scout has now been awarded a Great British Spring Clean Badge as a reward for their efforts."
