A student who was branded ‘trash girl’ by bitter bullies for picking up people’s rubbish has been turned into a cartoon superhero.
Nadia Sparkes, 12, made national headlines for her noble mission, but she became the target of vicious yobs for clearing up litter on her two-mile bike ride to school.
The gutsy Hellesdon High School student, from Norwich, refused to stop and instead took ownership of her new nickname.
Nadia Sparkes, 12, was branded ‘trash girl’ by her peers after she made national headlines for picking up people’s rubbish on her way to school
Now, the Hellesdon High School student, from Norwich, has been turned into a cartoon superhero by Norfolk-based Creative Nation
As a result, brave Nadia has been flooded with messages of support from as far away as America and New Zealand – 12,000 miles away.
The eco-warrior youngster has now become a cartoon superhero thanks to a local production company, who have called her ‘litter’s hardest hitter’.
The creators hope the image will lead to a cartoon being used in schools to inspire more young people to take a page out of Nadia’s book.
Amazed Alex Jeffery, of Norfolk-based Creative Nation, said Nadia’s incredible story inspired them to create the Trash Girl cartoon.
Alex said: ‘We think Nadia’s a superhero for putting the planet first.
‘And she’s done that in the face of bullies who chose to criticise rather than help her and get involved.
Nadia’s proud mum, Paula Sparkes, 41, said her daughter’s vicious bullies have stopped abusing and taunting her since she’s become a celebrity in her own right.
She said: ‘It was like turning off a tap. Ever since the story’s gone out Nadia’s not had any negative comments.
‘She just sat there [reading the responses to her mission] and said “I am not on my own any more.”‘
She even has a ‘Team Trash Girl’ Facebook page with more than 560 members, which urges people to share photos of rubbish they clean up every day
Nadia’s already piled up almost three recycling bins’ worth of plastic on her crusade
Paula, of Hellesdon, Norwich, said Nadia had been backed by her new army of worldwide fans all over the UK and Europe and as far away as Canada, the USA and New Zealand.
She even has a ‘Team Trash Girl’ Facebook page with more than 560 members, which urges people to share photos of rubbish they clean up every day.
High-profile Norfolk van artist Ruddy Muddy has also created a picture dedicated to Nadia on the back of his vehicle dubbed ‘this girl’s got bottle’.
Mrs Sparkes said: ‘Nadia has been a bit overwhelmed by it by it all, but she is happy that so many people are thinking like her.’
Nadia’s used her bicycle basket to pick up plastic and ferry it home for recycling since last September.
She’s already piled up almost three recycling bins’ worth of plastic on her astonishing one-girl clean-up crusade.
Mr Jeffery said: ‘We created this image for Nadia to say a big ‘thank you’ to her and to offer our support for her fantastic work.’
He added: ‘We also wanted to see if our image could inspire a nationwide cartoon, sent to schools to inspire more young people to do the same fantastic work.’