HUGE environmental benefits for both wildlife and the public have resulted from the work of a group of Okehampton volunteers who have enhanced one of the hidden gems of the town.

The Okehampton Rivers Improvement Group will celebrate its tenth anniversary next year, having completed numerous projects and ongoing clearing work to reveal the sparkling waters of the West and East Okement Rivers which once lay shrouded behind thick undergrowth.

Started in the millennium year by former mayor of the town Christine Marsh, the group has thrived and now boasts more than 20 members, ranging from students to professionals and retired people, with a keen interest in the environment.

Opening up areas for public enjoyment has been one of the key aims of the rivers group but perhaps the biggest success has been improvement in the quality of the river — it is now a popular spawning ground with increased salmon stocks, kingfishers and dippers have returned and baby otters have even been seen.

Over the last decade, almost £60,000 of funding has been successfully applied for and work has included installing a bridge and footpath in the park, improvements to the Westbridge Weir and the ferry steps where children used to catch the passenger ferry in the late 1800s, cutting back vegetation, coppicing and picking up litter.

There are hopes now that a bid for £16,000 to upgrade the confluence of the rivers behind Lidl supermarket and make it an attractive area to sit and watch riverlife will be forthcoming from the Big Lottery Fund and this long-awaited project can come to fruition.

Cllr Marsh said: 'It's a lovely area where the two rivers meet but so much more could be made of it.

'Okehampton's rivers are a real asset but they have been hidden. Much of our work has been cutting back and making views of the river and now people are more aware of them.

'Cutting back the overgrowth has also helped let the sunlight in which is good for the fish and other wildlife.

'Devon County Council has also got involved by improving the area behind its highways depot — since then staff have seen a baby otter in the river.'

The first river clean-up which involved a wader-clad John Burnett, MP for West Devon and Torridge at the time, produced one and a half skips full of rubbish from the rivers.

Although litter can still be a problem, local awareness is improving and there is an over-riding desire to keep the rivers clean.

'We are getting all sorts of wildlife now and the anglers who fish in the Torridge say the water has improved because the fish are coming up to spawn,' added Cllr Marsh.

'There are two rivers that run through the centre of the town, and how many other towns can say that?'

Public relations officer for the Environment Agency Paul Gainey said: 'We welcome any community support to clear the waterways both aesthetically and environmentally. This group has done some really hard work in removing things from the river and unblocking the waterways.

'The biodiversity and conditions of the river have improved and therefore so has the ecology.'