For the past six weeks John Pursey has been dredging old bicycles from the River Avon – and towing them away by canoe.

Mr Pursey, 64, a delivery driver, was so sick of seeing rusty old bikes dumped in the New Cut he decided to do something about it.

Two or three times a fortnight, when the tides are right, he launches his canoe at Temple Meads and paddles from Bedminster Bridge to St Anne's, picking up discarded frames as he goes.

He then tows them away on a raft made from inner tubes, strips off any parts that might be useful and takes them away for scrap.

Since the start of April he has removed about 20 discarded bikes.

He barely makes anything from them – he got about £4 for his last five bikes – but does it to clean up the area.

Mr Pursey, of St Anne's, said: "I don't do it as something to make money on, just to get rid of an eyesore.

"You can see the bicycles sticking up out of the mud and the water, so I go out when the tide is low and come back when it rises."

Mr Pursey tried taking them away by balancing them on his canoe, but the weight almost capsized him.

He said: "I used to carry them on the front of the canoe and tie them on, but you have to be very careful as they can easily turn you over.

"So I made a raft out of old inner tubes and one from a huge truck tyre, and tow them away that way.

"It is awkward as you can only handle so many, and it is easy to lose control.

"I have used the raft for a couple of weeks, and it has made it a lot easier."

Mr Pursey says it has become a "bit of an eco-friendly past-time".

He said: "I like canoeing and getting rid of the old bikes gives me a bit of a goal. By doing this I am cleaning up the river as well as enjoying the sport."

Mr Pursey has been canoeing for about 20 years, but has spent most of his life on or in the water.

He worked as a commercial diver in the North Sea for 15 years, and in the 1960s worked on commercial barges bringing coal from South Wales into Bristol.

He was also a fireman on the original Queen Elizabeth.

Although his water-based pursuits are more modest these days, he still loves to get out.

On Tuesday, his most recent trip to clean up the New Cut, he picked up five bikes.

His clean-up operations have been so successful that most of the dumped bikes are gone.

He said: "That was probably the most bikes I have picked up. There aren't many bikes left, so that was the last trip for a while."

While his self-imposed job is worthwhile it is also dangerous, and Mr Pursey has a word of warning.

He said: "It is probably not a good idea to encourage people to do this, as it can dangerous and you have to be very careful.

"I know the water very well and have spent most of my life on it. You really have to treat it with respect."