VOLUNTEERS from across the county decided to give Monmouthshire a spring clean last weekend.

Despite inclement weather conditions a small band of volunteers gave up their Sunday morning to clear the littered roadside verges between Trellech and Monmouth Road on the B4293.

The group said that the rubbish collected had mostly been discarded from vehicles by individuals with little or no respect for the environment or Monmouthshire.

Elsewhere, the newly formed Monmouth Community Champions organised a spring clean of Monmouth on Saturday (4th February).

Organised by Kevin Graham, the champions alongside other like-minded groups and individuals cleaned the gardens, fields and ditches to the Drybridge Park area and removed a vast amount of discarded rubbish.

The champions said: “You only have to walk round Monmouth or drive along the A40 to see that our town has a huge litter problem. Discarded bottles, drink cans, empty fag packets, fast food containers and worse disfigure the environment. This is such a pity as we have a potentially wonderful town.”

Monmouth Community Champions is a recently formed group whose purpose is to identify and implement improvements in Monmouth and to have fun while they are doing it.

Last month (Tuesday 21st February) 12 young litter pickers joined Keep Wales Tidy to clear up the Overmonnow area.

The King Fee store provided pickers with light refreshments, and the young litter pickers were given discount vouchers from the Savoy Theatre for their next cinema visit.

Another litter-picking event is planned for Monmouth Skate Park, Rockfield Road and surrounding area on Thursday 9th March at 4.15pm for an hour. Tidy Towns will provide the equipment.