THE mayor of Okehampton is spearheading Okehampton's second Big Tidy Up of 2013, with the aim of encouraging community members to join together for a litter clear up in the Okehampton area.

The first 'Keep Okehampton Tidy' day took place in April, after pupils of Okehampton Primary's Kes Tor Class wrote individual letters to town mayor Cllr the Rev Mike Davies about the overuse of plastic shopping bags and the state of littering in the town.

After visiting the school and talking the idea through with pupils and staff, the litter picking event was organised.

Local organisations showed their community spirit by getting involved with the day, including Okement Rivers Improvement Group, Okehampton and District Chamber of Trade, the Okehampton Police Neighbourhood team and the primary school. They teamed up with Okehampton residents to take part in the day, which was part of the national campaign The Big Tidy Up.

Cllr Rev Davies is now spearheading the second Keep Okehampton Tidy day, which will take place on Saturday, October 26.

Cllr Davies said: 'I receive countless phone calls from local residents saying they find littering deplorable and want me to do something about it.

'Through Keep Okehampton Tidy, my aim is to encourage local people to get involved and do their bit to tackle the problem of litter.

'We had a great community day earlier in the year with hundreds of local people getting involved. Let's see if we can do the same again in October.'

In addition to Keep Okehampton Tidy, volunteers involved in the Okement Rivers Improvement Group have been cleaning not only the town's two rivers but the local area.

Mayor Davies is highlighting the date now in an effort to get as many community groups as possible involved.

Further information will be available in the Times in the coming weeks, but any individual or group interested in getting involved can visit the Keep Okehampton Tidy page on Facebook, or call the mayor on 01837 659841.