Offenders help to tidy Church Stretton

Convicted offenders helped to clear tonnes of dirt and litter from a south Shropshire town to pay back the community for their crimes, it was revealed today.

The Probation Service brought a group of people serving community payback orders to Church Stretton to take part in a "deep clean" at Watling Street South. Shropshire Council today said the group had cleaned away "several tonnes" of waste.

This included enough leaves, moss and dirt to fill 40 bin sacks during two sessions on May 12 and 19.

It cleared the way for council and Veolia staff to use a jet wash machine and garden hoes to tackle remaining dirt and weeds.

A council spokesman said: "To get the street as clean as possible, local residents were asked to find alternative parking while the clean was being carried out.

"During the deep clean, the council's street cleaning warden assisted the contractor Veolia Environmental Services to jet wash and sweep the pavements.

"The large road sweeper and smaller pavement sweeper were able to operate without disruption to great effect.

"This work had a big impact along the street. Several residents kindly made appreciative comments to all involved, congratulating the team on the work carried out."

Councillor Martin Bennett, Shropshire Council's deputy cabinet member, said: "I am grateful to the residents of Church Stretton for moving all their cars during the clean so that we could clear the road and pavements properly.

"This has resulted in several tonnes of debris being collected and the road and pavements look so much better."

James Gibson and David Evans, Shropshire councillors for Church Stretton and Craven Arms respectively, issued a joint statement today to praise the clean-up scheme and its impact on the town.

They also thanked the residents of Watling Street South for their co-operation and the environmental maintenance team, contractor Veolia and the community payback team for their efforts.

By Danny Carden