MORE THAN 250 bags of rubbish were collected by volunteers who came together to clean up Old Town.

Around 50 residents and councillors teamed up to tidy up the area as part of an event organised by The Old Town facebook group.

The litter-pickers split into four groups for three hours, covering the railway path, Britannia Place, the Town Gardens and Okus, and Eastcott.

Steve Stimson, organiser of the Old Town Big Clean Up, said: "Everyone was quite gobsmacked by how much we collected, it was much more than we expected.

"When we went to the tip and saw it all together, it was shocking.

"There was a lot of stuff hidden away behind trees and in the undergrowth where you couldn't see it.

"We found three needles, which were reported to and collected by the council straight away.

"We also found a lot of old plastic wrapping and bottles, which is a shame.

"It was quite hard work in the sun, but people were really motivated by what they were doing and they could clearly see the results of their work.

"It was a non-political event, councillors across party lines came together to help out, which is great, it shows that they really care about their local area.

"It was great to see so many people turn up and seeing what a big impact it had after everything was collected and cleared away did make me smile.

"Quite a few people were keen to do it again and our group is the best way to get events like this done because it's the biggest.

"Hopefully momentum will start to build and the next one will be bigger and better."

Mark Williams is the administrator of the Old Town facebook group.

After the event, he said: "I want to thank Steve Stimson for all of the time and energy he has put into organising the Big Clean and the weeks leading up to the event.

"He did a terrific job in organising the event and tempting 50 people to help."