Countryfile's John Craven admits 'it's disheartening' as he faces issue behind the scenes

Countryfile icon John Craven has admitted a major issue he is battling with that he finds "disheartening".

Many will know John for his time presenting Newsround and more recently on BBC show Countryfile. In a recent insight into his life on the show, he told the Countryfile magazine, that he was "disheartened" by one thing that he had noticed starting to go on around him.

Chatting about how he thinks the UK should follow other countries' lead when it comes to recycling, he gave a frank assesment of the current state of play in this country, writing: "It is so disheartening; every day 17 million single-use drinks containers - representing huge amounts of plastic, aluminium and steel - are thrown away rather than recycled in the UK. We see them everywhere, from busy streets to the wildest remotest places."

John even revealed that the issue has impacted him directly, recalling how a recent cave crawling expedition was scuppered: "I once crawled deep underground, explorer-like, to the very end of a cave system, elated by my achievement until the lamp on my helmet picked out a pile of empty bottles, proving I was by no means the first there."

Over the years, John has cemented himself as one of the most recognisable faces in broadcasting. Having started his career in regional journalism, John later left that part of his career behind after he began hosting his own BBC show, John Craven's Newsround (now known as Newsround) on the BBC, which saw him host the children's news programme for an impressive 17-years.

In 1989, he left the news show behind after he landed a role on Countryfile where he has hosted the show ever since. After joining the show just a year after it first aired, he is now the longest serving presenter in the show's over three and a half decades on our screens.

In that time, fans of the show have seen him shine a light on a number of topical issues that have affected the Britsh countryside, including foot and mouth disease and the fox-hunting ban.

In this evening's episode of Countryfile, fans will see John take a trip to the Wensleydale Railway in North Yorkshire that had been left empty for decades before recently being brought back into use. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the railway in England.

Countryfile is set to return this evening (Sunday, July 3) at 6.20pm on BBC One.