Dedicated south Essex litter pickers have discovered a chocolate bar wrapper and drink cans dating back to the 1980s after a hedge was cut back.

The Wickford Wombles litter picking group collected six bags of rubbish on Tuesday, BBC Essex reports.

And residents were stunned as the group shared an old Marathon bar wrapper was discovered among the litter.

The popular chocolate bar is now known as Snickers after Mars decided to align the UK product with the global name in 1990, although a retro edition Marathon was sold at Morrisons for three months in 2020.

Volunteers also discovered drink cans from the 80s including brands such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Schweppes.

Group founder Tracey Menzies told BBC Essex it was "unfortunately not unusual" to see some items had not degraded over time.

She added: "It's sad to find them - but it's also good to find them, to dispose of them properly after all this time."

Echo: The Pepsi ring pull can discovered with a date of June 1988The Pepsi ring pull can discovered with a date of June 1988 (Image: Wickford Wombles)

Sharing the historic finds, a spokesman for the group said on Facebook: "Pants!!! One pair now in the bin, plus several 1988 ring pull cans, a marathon wrapper, a shoe, couple of people poops complete with toilet paper (left for nature to deal with), a wicker chair, 7 disposable vapes, and about 80 million tiny pieces of clear plastic. Thanks to the team as ever."

Get more great stories like this delivered to your inbox every day by signing up to our morning newsletter - don't miss out!

Miss Menzies added: "These things were picked up no more than 10 metres from a bin - there may not have been a bin there in 1988, but who knows.

"We found a 1994 glass bottle from our last pick. They're often as good as new."