Residents turned out in force to clean their little patch of Ashton at a community litter pick recently.

People from Ashton Hurst battled the poor weather to collect 27 bags of litter.

The event was organised by Ashton Hurst Councillor Dan Costello and follows on from the GB Spring Clean sessions held in July.

Cllr Costello said: “We had a fantastic response from the local Hurst community again. I couldn’t believe how many people were willing to get absolutely soaked in order to help keep our local area clean and tidy. There’s a social media hashtag which describes volunteers as litter heroes - there is no more fitting description of the group that turned up to these three sessions! I’ve been humbled by the community response to my initiative to tidy up Hurst.”

In total, 119 bags of rubbish have now been collected since the clean ups began.

Dan added: “Back in May, I promised that I would make sure Hurst residents had the right to live in a clean and tidy area, and that is exactly what we are on the way to achieving. Clearly litter picking is dealing with the symptoms rather than the cause, and we’d all prefer the litter not to be there in the first place.

"I believe education is key to improving the situation long term, which is why I’m also working with local schools and local schoolchildren to get the message out about the importance of caring for our community and keeping it tidy. In the meantime, I’ll keep organising sessions to remove litter from our streets, and I’ll always be grateful for volunteers giving up their time to make these a success. Look out for a festive series of litter picks - possibly with Christmas jumpers and Santa hats!”

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