LITTER pickers kept on top of most of the rubbish generated at Lydiard Park throughout the Big Weekend.

And Coun Fay Howard (Parks, Labour) was one of 60 volunteers who was not afraid of mucking in. The Adver bumped into Fay when she was hard at work on Saturday.

“I try and volunteer for as much stuff as I can,” said Fay. “There isn’t that much to do but I have been delivering sandwiches and litter picking. We got a free ticket for Sunday because of this but I didn’t know that before volunteering and I will probably give it to someone else.

“There are a lot of council officers helping as well.”

The Big Weekend was expected to create more than 50 tonnes of rubbish, according to the council.

About 100 wheelie bins were situated throughout Lydiard Park along with 40 metal containers. Three bin lorries were also on site. As well as volunteers, 30 Swindon Commercial Services staff were employed to pick up rubbish.

Head of waste management Richard Fisher said: “We have managed to keep on top of it really well. Everyone has been co-operating. We have plenty bins around and we keep emptying them.

“We have only had minor problems, like people thinking the bins are full because they see blue bags beside them.

“Litter pickers have almost been waiting for people to finish their drinks – they are keeping on top of it so well. Most of it looks like it will be recyclable so I think we will achieve that.”

The litter picking shift lasted from noon to 7pm. After that volunteers had a break until after the main acts and then set to work clearing the park. When the main acts were well into their sets, litter could be seen overflowing in a number of bins.

The rubbish from the Big Weekend is expected to be equivalent to the average waste produced by 50 homes in a year. The council hope 75 to 80 per cent would be recyclable.