A Richmond resident has taken community spirit into his own hands after spending an afternoon cleaning up a neglected stretch of the town's riverside path with his daughter.

Rocco Mogliarisi said he decided to tackle the condition of public benches and bins along the popular riverside route after noticing they had become covered in grime and bird droppings.

The location, surrounded by some of Richmond's well-known restaurants and close to the Thames, is a busy route for both residents and visitors, but Mogliarisi felt the area had been "let down" by a lack of maintenance.

Rather than waiting for action, he said he wanted to use the opportunity to teach his daughter an important lesson about taking responsibility and contributing to the community.

Mogliarisi said: "It was important to me to show her that we shouldn't just sit back and expect others to do things for us.

"We took it upon ourselves to clean and restore these fixtures to their proper state."

He added that the aim was not only to improve the appearance of the riverside, but also to show that small actions can make a difference.

"My goal was to lead by example and teach her that if we want a beautiful community, we have to be willing to take action ourselves," he said.

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The Richmond resident hopes the clean-up effort will help make the riverside area a more welcoming place for people to enjoy.

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