Dog waste hanging from trees, a bin bag full of human excrement and nappies left on the floor. It's almost hard to believe those are all things that visitors have left behind in the picturesque, rolling hills of the Lake District. Sadly, however, that's the reality currently faced by a team of volunteer litter pickers based in the popular beauty spot. Dubbed 'The Keswick Binfluencers', the online group has accumulated over 650 members on Facebook, since Annie Garforth, 51, started the campaign in June 2025. 'As a local I just got fed up of taking our dogs down the lake most days during the season and seeing all the litter and the fly camping tents pitched up all around the lake shore and campfires and barbecues left,' Ms Garforth tells the Daily Mail.'Lots of the fly campers were leaving the whole set of tents, equipment, food, just abandoning it. So I thought I'd start a little Facebook group just to whinge and moan with other locals, but then it took off and ended up as a full-blown campaign.'The group is based in Keswick, and now consists of a mixture of locals and visitors. Members either go out individually and report back what they've spotted, tidying up along the way, or arrange outings as small groups. Keswick Binfluencer Annie Garforth launched the online community last summer on Facebook The group, which has over 650 members, aims to spread awareness on litter and fly camping in KeswickLitter and fly camping are the 'two biggest issues' in the area according to Ms Garforth who reveals: 'The worst thing with the litter is dog poo bags. We just don't understand it.'People take the time to bag it up, but then they leave the bags hanging from trees like Christmas decorations. You've bagged it up. Why can't you carry it to a bin?'The group hopes to spread awareness to visitors that they should leave only their footprints behind. 'So even any rubbish that you make during your visit, at the end of the day, take it home with you,' she adds.As for the most shocking things Ms Garforth has found when out and about, she says, 'A full white bin bag, just full of human waste.'The volunteer continues: 'Someone had carried a rattan garden chair all the way down to the shore where they'd been fly camping. But they cut a hole in the seat, so they were using it for when they wanted the toilet.'But they didn't put a bucket or anything underneath, it just went straight onto the lake.'Nappies and used sanitary products are some of the other 'vile' things the group have found. They bag the items up and leave them for the council to collect after notifying the local authority. The group has discovered all sorts while out and about in the Lake District beauty spot One of the most shocking things found includes 'a full white bin bag, just full of human waste'. Pictured: Keswick Binfluencers Ms Garforth doesn't think that the littering is done 'out of malice', but instead believes it is down to a lack of education. As a result, she believes the Countryside Code should be taught in schools. 'People don't realise when they're coming from towns and cities where litter is just part of the everyday thing that they pass,' she says. 'They don't understand the damage it does especially in rural areas and to wildlife and such.'They just drop it as if they're in a city where street cleaners will be cleaning it all up and everything. We've heard people say to the kids, "Oh, just drop it there. It keeps someone in a job."'The Keswick local says the area has 'reached and passed its saturation point of visitors', explaining how roads get blocked by the sheer volume of tourists, creating issues for emergency vehicles and buses trying to pass through. She feels, despite tourism figures suggesting a fall in visitors, that fly campers and day visitors have 'increased massively'.Ms Garforth argues 'social media has a lot to answer for', particularly as locations go viral online and draw in crowds. She says: 'They don't care what they do after they've got that photo.' According to Cumbria Tourism, visitor numbers in the overall Lake District National Park area totalled 17.45million in 2025, a decrease of 1.5 per cent compared to the previous year.Ms Garforth says problems such as a lack of local funding and 'overstretched' policing don't help. She adds: 'We just don't have the infrastructure to deal with that many visitors.' Litter and fly camping are the 'two biggest issues' in the area, according to Ms Garforth, who adds dog poo bags are a problem Keswick Town Council is a 'huge supporter' of the Binfluencer group, according to Ms Garforth. Other local authorities, such as Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council, have also brought in measures to try and help the situation, such as further patrols and public space protection orders (PSPO). Cumberland Council is actively promoting its 'Leave No Trace. Respect Cumberland' campaign.The council has engaged with 100 individuals and moved on multiple people who were camping inappropriately.Over the last two weeks alone, ten campsites in the area have also been removed and two Fixed Penalty Notices issued. A Cumberland Council spokesman said: 'Cumberland's landscapes and beauty spots are among our greatest assets, enjoyed by residents and visitors alike. The majority of people treat these places with care and respect, and we want to encourage everyone to do the same.'While education and engagement remain our preferred approach, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action where advice is ignored and there is clear evidence of anti-social behaviour or environmental damage.'Our message is simple: enjoy Cumberland responsibly, respect local communities and wildlife, and leave no trace behind. Where people fail to do that, there will be consequences.''We love visitors because the Lake District survives on tourism, that's its biggest income and lots of peoples' jobs rely on tourism up here,' Ms Garforth insists.'But please just respect the area and respect the locals. We have to live and work here but don't make life hard and look after the area.'A spokesman for Keswick Town Council told the Daily Mail: 'Keswick is in a very privileged position, being loved by visitors from across the globe. 'The National Parks were set up to provide open access to the countryside, but the understanding of "open access land" seems to have changed over time. We are seeing more people coming who believe they have the right to pitch their tents on any open space, and set up campfires, despite this being prohibited by the landowners. 'The Unitary Authority, National Park Authority and National Trust, who between them own the majority of the open access land, are working hard to try to educate the public and move people on who pitch up where they shouldn’t, but it’s a Sisyphean task when it’s different visitors every week across over 900 square miles of national park.' Cumberland Council is actively promoting its 'Leave No Trace. Respect Cumberland' campaign They added: 'Cumbria is a rural county with a small population, which means less income for the councils, high council tax rates, and low police numbers as we are staffed according to the resident population, not the number of people that enjoy our town, both as overnight and day visitors. 'This means councils need to prioritise their statutory duties, and finding funding for enforcement officers to police the Public Space Protection orders that have had to be put in place to protect the area naturally becomes a lower priority.'The town prides itself on welcoming visitors, which brings people back year on year to enjoy both the landscape, and the thriving independent hospitality businesses, but we are experiencing more challenges with people’s expectations of how they want to experience the outdoors.'Cumbria's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, David Allen, told the Daily Mail: 'The Keswick Binfluencers and partner organisations across the county do a brilliant job of keeping Keswick and the wider county tidy, safe and welcoming so that everyone can enjoy everything the Lake District and Cumbria has to offer.'The majority of our visitors treat the county with respect and cause no issues, which is very much appreciated. However, some of our visitors do leave a mess, damage the countryside and expect others to clean up after them. If this is left unchecked it will destroy what is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most beautiful counties in the country. Visitor numbers in the overall Lake District National Park area totalled to 17.45million in 2025, a decrease of 1.5 per cent compared to the previous year'I work with other agencies, including the Unitary Authorities, who are responsible for the Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) and we have, this year in particular, done more education, more joint patrolling and more enforcement activity.'Cumbria Police do a brilliant job at keeping our streets safe, but they are finite in number and cover a huge geographical area.'Mr Allen added: 'The Police and other agencies do what is possible to keep everyone safe, tackle criminality and support victims and do it well. 'Police and Council Enforcement Officers do what they can with the resources they have but it is everyone's responsibility to treat our National Park, city, towns, villages and nature with respect.'Education is one of the key tools we can use for anyone visiting and we have done a lot of that in the last year. We want everyone to enjoy what Cumbria offers but we need everyone to clean up after themselves, leave no trace and to also park responsibly. 'The majority of Cumbria's roads are rural and narrow – they cannot accommodate cars, vans etc. being ditched on the sidelines, which prevent rural buses and emergency vehicles being able to get through.'I'd urge anyone visiting our county to respect the area you are visiting, please be considerate and if you spot anyone breaking the rules and/or laws to report it to the Police or Council with as much information as you can. Together we can keep Cumbria safe and beautiful for everyone and for the generations to come.'Suzy Hankin, Northern Area Ranger for the Lake District National Park Authority, told the Daily Mail: 'During the peak visitor season, the National Park Authority is continuing to work with partners in Cumbria’s Strategic Visitor Management Group (SVMG) including the police, landowners and councils, to speak to and educate fly campers and irresponsible parkers through regular patrols. 'Along with our rangers, we also have a small number of dedicated roles who carry out face-to-face engagement with visitors to educate people who are visiting Lake District irresponsibly, and unfortunately, to clear up litter left by fly campers.'