MORE than 40 people helped spring clean Halesowen’s Highfields estate – collecting a skip full of rubbish and litter.

Residents and children were joined by the 1st Halesowen Scout Group, estate wardens, police community support officers, representatives from Highfields Park allotments and Belle Vale councillor Ian Cooper.

The community litter pick was the first of a series of environmental improvements to be carried out on the estate, which figures in the top four per cent most deprived areas in England.

It was organised through the Government’s Our Place programme, which is managed by Dudley borough’s Centre for Equality and Diversity.