A campaign to spruce up the county has proved a dazzling success thanks to the efforts of residents, community groups and schools.
Litter Free Durham’s Big Spring Clean results are in. The two month-long initiative, which ended last month (May) saw 85 litter picks take place, involving almost 1,400 volunteers who collected a total of 1,086 bags of rubbish working over a total of 2,000 hours.
The campaign, which is now in its third year, is supported by both Durham County Council and Darlington Borough Council.
Cllr Brian Stephens, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and local partnerships at Durham County Council, said: “The Big Spring Clean shows just what can be achieved by everyone getting together to help tackle the problem of litter.
“We will continue to support clean up campaigns such as the Big Spring Clean and the ‘Love where you live’ campaign from Keep Britain Tidy to help make our environment cleaner and greener.”
In addition to the fantastic results achieved by the litter picks, a team of volunteers removed over seven tonnes of rubbish from the Denemouth area in Blackhall.
The volunteers were supported by neigh-bourhood wardens, the council’s Civic Pride Team, Clean and Green, Durham Constabulary, Durham Heritage Coast, Environment Agency and Natural England.
Anyone interested in taking part in future campaigns to improve their local environment contact: 03000 261 000 or visit: www.durham.gov.uk/civicpride
