Litter mountain toppled by villagers

THE villages of Hoe and Worthing are gleaming in the spring sunshine after the removal of 147 bags of litter in the latest Breckland Blitz community clear-up.

Rubbish thrown from vehicles passing through the tiny parishes of Hoe and Worthing had built up to become a real eyesore.

Being too small to have a parish council, Hoe and Worthing residents make collective decisions on local issues and came together to arrange a two-day community spring clean on Friday and saturday.

The clean-up formed part of the Breckland Blitz initiative organised by Breckland Council which provided participants with litter pickers, gloves, bags and high visibility jackets.

Thirty volunteers of all ages cleared the 147 bags of rubbish and a mass of items too large to be bagged including vacuum cleaners, tyres, gas cylinders and plastic drums.

Some of those who took part were photographed with the rubbish mountain and the images will be added to the villages' photographic archive which is to go on display for the first time in Hoe Parish Room on May 15.

Breckland Council executive member for communities and benefits, Theresa Hewett, said: 'This is a small community so it's fantastic to see so many people getting involved to make a real difference to their local environment. With just four weeks of the 'Blitz' gone, we estimate that Breckland residents have already cleared around three tonnes of rubbish'.

The Breckland Blitz initiative was launched on March 1 when Breckland Council staff spent a lunch break picking up litter in Dereham. The initiative will run for nine weeks and is designed to encourage residents to take pride and ownership of their local environment, take responsibility for rubbish and get involved in practical action to improve the appearance of their neighbourhood.

Pictures; Some of the volunteers from the Hoe and Worthing community clean-up, and the rubbish mountain they collected.