Alexandra Park has a plastic pollution guardian - and it’s a dog.

Ida the cavapoo and owner Alex Class began clearing rubbish on their morning walks in September and have carried on ever since.

Ally Pally, which runs the park, recently estimated 25 tonnes of rubbish had been dumped there in May - 20 tonnes more than the same month last year.

Alex, from Muswell Hill, said: “We started playing around with bottles in the park because there were so many. Instead of using a ball we’d throw a plastic bottle.”

Now, Alex and Ida also collect cans, glass, plastic bags and packaging.

“I see it as a cry for help,” Alex said. “We don’t know how to deal with how we feel, so the easiest way is to not care for anything.”

Alex hopes the pandemic will change people’s values towards the environment.

“When there’s a lot of litter and less care for the environment, that’s when you get less care for people,” he said.

“Disrespect for the environment is disrespect for ourselves.”

READ MORE: Alexandra Palace: 25-tonne ‘onslaught’ of rubbish ‘not acceptable’