A Monmouth man was runner-up in a prestigious Wales-wide award for volunteering.

Dave Wigmore was one of three people nominated from all of Wales for a Volunteer of the Year award at the Keep Wales Tidy award ceremony last week

The Tidy Wales awards recognises those groups and volunteers that help set high standards for parks, beaches, marinas and tourism in Wales.

Dave is a familiar figure in the Wyesham area and can often be seen walking along the Redbrook Road as far as the showground, picking litter with his faithful companion Brock, a long-haired German Pointer.

Dave was nominated by the Monmouth Litter Group’s treasurer Sara James who said how he has devoted himself to “getting on with litter collecting on his daily and sometimes twice daily dog walks mainly along the edges of the River Wye and the ‘beaches’ where picnickers bathers and young party makers often leave their litter, not only is this unsightly but it inevitably finds its way into the river causing pollution and damage to wildlife.

“He provides our meetings with invaluable updates and information about trends, local hotspots and instances of river pollution.”

More recently Dave has personally taken on clearing rubbish from further afield collecting up to three bags a day noting that the contractors currently repairing the landslip on the A40 have not been provided with refuse collection where they park up on the road to Dixon Church. He has now provided bags for the workman to put their rubbish in

Since coming to the attention of the local litter group, he has been supported with the provision of litter-picking equipment and the county council picks his bags up.

Dave travelled up to Llandudno, courtesy of Monmouth Town Council with Monmouth Litter Pick champion Anthea Dewhurst, a former mayor of Monmouth.

Brock the dog was given the day off.

Along with all the other groups and volunteers nominated for the Tidy Wales Award, they enjoyed a meal before Dave learned he was awarded runner-up in the Volunteer of the Year Award, pipped to the post by a 92-year-old litter picker from Newtown.

Dave being a sprightly 81 years old thought the winner thoroughly deserved the cup.

“Coming second in Wales is something though, it was a lovely occasion and a lovely three-course-meal.”

Anthea Dewhurst said:"David is Monmouth's local hero and also a national one. His decades of litter picking the banks of the Monnow and the Wye has salvaged mountains of plastic and rubbish from reaching the sea. But what I most admire about David and his dog Brock, is the way he can connect with groups of young people who otherwise would have simply abandoned their food and drink waste by the river.”

It was an honour to accompany him to the Awards ceremony "

Readers may recognise his surname as his grandfather, Charlie Wigmore, started a bakery in Monmouth in 1908. After he left school at 16, Dave helped his father Jack carry on business for ten years before leaving to deliver milk in Bristol for 40 years.