Fed up boy, 8, clears pathway of stinging nettles and brambles to allow social distancing

A young boy from Ely who was fed up of seeing overhanging brambles and stinging nettles on his walk to school decided to clear the path himself.

Eight-year-old Nathan Morris spent more than five hours clearing the walkway between Downham Road and The Lantern Community Primary School in Ely.

His mum, Susie Morris – who is a childminder – says Nathan noticed how hard it was for people to safely social distance themselves with the obstructions on the path.

Nathan mentioned how dangerous it was getting with brambles overhanging at a height which could potentially harm people if one passed another.

Over the course of two weeks, Nathan – with a little help from his sister – cleared the pathway and chopped down the dangerous stinging nettles.

Ms Morris said: “I think he [Nathan] has done a great job with help from myself and his sister and his efforts will make a difference for everyone who walks down the path, creating a safer journey for all.

“As a childminder I walk that path almost daily on our school runs.

“Nathan joins me most days on our walk along the path and had noticed more and more how difficult it was to try to keep a social distance.

“We also litter pick on our daily school walks to keep the paths clean from litter and help our local wildlife and environment as I feel this is such an important lesson to teach our children.

“We had contacted the council about the state of the pathway and how dangerous it was getting, and we are aware that others have also contacted them.

“But no action had been taken so Nathan asked me if we could do something about it instead.

As a member of 3rd Ely beavers Nathan is very aware about helping in his local community.

He hopes his work will make the pathway safer for people to walk down and that his efforts will help him earn one of his beaver badges.