TWO lorry-loads of litter and fly-tipped rubbish have been cleared away – thanks to the efforts of Council officers and young offenders in Richmondshire.

Richmondshire District Council’s Street Cleansing staff joined forces with the North Yorkshire Youth Offending Team (YOT) to clean up an unsightly patch of land in Colburn that had been blighted by fly-tipping.

Five young offenders spent a day working with YOT supervisors and Council officers to remove two full pickups worth of rubbish from the field.

The event was part of the Council’s contribution towards the national Big Tidy Up campaign, which runs throughout September. The Council has written to all parish councils about the campaign, and is offering to work with community groups – for example, by providing equipment or by arranging to remove the collected waste – to help tidy up litter hotspots around the district.

For more information about how you can join the campaign in Richmondshire, visit richmondshire.gov.uk/bigtidyup, or phone 01748 827169 or 01748 827173.

The tidy up could become the first of many such activities. The Council and the YOT hope to arrange further partnership projects in the future, including a plan to remove weeds and grass from car parks and kerbsides.