THE co-leader of the Green Party paid a visit to South Lakeland and Furness yesterday.

Sian Berry saw the pioneering coffee cup recycling programme by Burneside papermakers James Cropper Ltd.

"It’s fascinating to see how easy it is to recycle the cups, and how much more capacity Cropper’s has," said Ms Berry. "This illustrates how important it is that councils and companies provide them with more cups, rather than the cups being sent for incineration.

"It was also great to find out about Cropper’s community energy scheme and other community work."

Ms Berry, who is co-leader of the party alongside Jonathan Bartley, was also able to take a look at the Environment Agency's flood defence plans for Kendal following the devastation wrought by Storm Desmond in December 2015.

"The flooding that affected Kendal in 2015 was terrible. Climate change contributes significantly to the increased risk of such devastating events taking place," said Ms Berry. "It’s vital that Kendal receives the correct flood protection, and the local Green Party is working hard to provide vital scrutiny to these plans and ensure that they deliver value for money."

And Ms Berry, one of the Green Party's principal speakers and a councillor on Camden Council and a member of the London Assembly, also visited Ulverston where she saw some of the empty commercial properties about which the local group has been campaigning. She also visited groups in Lancaster and Penrith.