RESIDENTS from Sampford Courtenay and Honeychurch rallied to the call of their parish council in the name of rubbish this month.

Despite having a picture postcard look, the area has had its fair share of litter problems.

To help stamp out the problem, Sampford Courtenay Parish Councillors invited parishioners to join them, scouring the roads through the villages, green lanes and footpaths to rid their prized hedgerows of rubbish.

They hoped to show the whole community how litter can become a cumulative problem and encourage everyone to take more care and save costs.

Figures released by the UK's biggest anti-litter campaign, Keep Britain Tidy, have revealed to council taxpayers in the UK, that they pay out £500-million a year on removing more than 30-million tonnes of litter every year.

Parish Cllr Colin Coleman, said: 'This clean-up shows that we do care about the future of our local environment and that we are not prepared to live, work and play in an area that is blighted by rubbish.

'On first appearances, litter does not appear to be much of a problem in our idyllic lanes, but our willing volunteers still managed to collect six bags of rubbish, weighing over 30 kgs.

'They also identified much more which was too awkward and hazardous to handle on this occasion.

'What is good about working together like this, is it creates a sense of community and we hope to encourage some younger volunteers in future years as a first taste of active citizenship.'

The parish council will now ask Devon Highways to remove litter and rubbish along the main roads through their parish, which are too dangerous to be left to a voluntary event.