Horsham boy, 9, has posters displayed around Shoreham Port after impressing team with litter awareness

Jamie Hewitt was approached by the team at Shoreham Port after the County Times ran a story back in June about a poster he had hung up at Southwick beach in the hopes of making people think about where their rubbish ends up.

Although the poster didn’t survive the elements, the team were so impressed with his initiative that they asked him if he would like to create a new poster to be displayed in safer spaces around the port.

He was also invited to a sustainability event, which he attended this month alongside his proud grandmother Hazel Hewitt, who had helped Jamie hang up his original poster.

Cheyenne Plant, sustainability manager at Shoreham Port, said: “We were so impressed when we heard about Jamie’s poster on Southwick beach that I reached out to his family to ask if Jamie would be happy to draw up a new poster so we could make several copies to be displayed in our notice boards across our lock gates.

“As a Trust Port and EcoPort we always welcome engagement from those within our nearby community, especially when it comes to education or sustainability.

“I am delighted that young people like Jamie are taking a keen interest in protecting our marine environment and spreading awareness of the importance of disposing litter safely.

“We were lucky to have a visit from Jamie and his grandmother during our Sustainability Week event at the port earlier this month.

“Jamie took part in workshops about dolphins and kelp at Sussex Dolphin Project and visited our history exhibition, where his poster was featured among important artefacts in the port’s history. It was fantastic to meet Jamie and his grandmother in person.”

Jamie was inspired to make his original poster thanks to a school project which focused on the environment, litter, plastic and recycling.

Despite visiting on a wet and windy day, Jamie was delighted to see the three copies of his poster on display at the port for the first time.