A LITTERBUSTING champion who has trekked more than 1,200 miles to clean up Britain’s coastline has a new pressing goal much closer to home.

Wayne Dixon, 45, from Blackburn, has filled 1,500 bags full of rubbish while walking the nation’s shores with his Inuit dog Koda, becoming an ambassador for Keep Britain Tidy along the way.

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But now that the environmental charity is launching its Great British Spring Clean drive, in early March, Mr Dixon wants his home town to become a beacon for other Lancashire locations.

He said: “It would be great if Blackburn could host the most litter picks.

“It would really put the town on the map and make a real difference.”

The intrepid walker will lead his own exercise, removing rubbish from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal’s banks in Mill Hill, from the recreation ground onwards.

Since February, as first reported by the Lancashire Telegraph, Mr Dixon and Koda have covered a fair amount of geography on their trash-tackling mission.

He said: “I’ve been up as far as Glencoe in Scotland, before I had to come back down due to the weather.

“For the past few weeks I’ve been making my way down the coast from Fleetwood to Formby, with people helping along the way.

“I’ve got my full kit, so I can sleep out if needs be.

“But quite often now, as I’ve around 3,000 Facebook friends, I have people offering me a bed for the night.”

His brief respite from his round-Britain goal will end on Sunday, when he will resume at Formby, working his way down the coast to Wales.

Mr Dixon estimates he still has more than 4,000 or more miles to complete before he can finally rest.

He was inspired by the example of his late father John, who devised a series of historical rambles around Blackburn and Ribble Valley and has been raising funds for the mental health charity MIND.