A SCOTTISH charity using dog walks to tackle litter is urging people to join its efforts to beat the January blues.

Paws On Plastic, founded by primary school teacher Marion Montgomery, encourages dog walkers to pick up a few pieces of litter on every walk they take their dog on.

It has now reached a “pawesome” total of 23,000 members – and aims to dispose of around 34 million pieces of litter a year.

Montgomery said: “We’ve had an unbelievable start to the year!

“January can be a hard month for many people and New Year Resolutions often fall by the wayside by now. Picking up a few pieces of litter is such a simple but extremely satisfying thing to do when we are out anyway walking our dogs.”

The charity says its campaign has gained the attention of 80 countries in six continents, having been founded in Stonehaven in 2018.

Montgomery added: “We are all busy nowadays and it’s often hard to find the time for things.

“The beauty of Paws on Plastic is that no extra time or effort is required as it only takes a minute to pick up a couple of pieces of litter as part of your everyday dog walking routine.

“It’s fantastic for mental health – really empowering and satisfying to take a simple positive action that has an immediate and visible impact.”

“It just shows the real desire among dog owners to protect wildlife and our precious environment from harm.”

The charity also aims to educate children on the harms of littering