A TEAM of community volunteers, Belle Vale councillors and The Hawne River Stour Clean-up group have joined together to tidy a stretch of water near Dudley Road.

More than 20 bags of litter was collected alongside large items of debris which were found both in the river and on nearby river banks.

A number of people – made up of helpers from the friends group, Belle Vale Conservatives, Halesowen MP James Morris and local residents – spent several hours near the river on Saturday morning.

Jean Cooper, Hawne River Stour Clean-up group representative, who organised the event alongside Cllr Simon Phipps, said: “Both myself and Simon have been wanting to work together on a group litter pick and river clean-up for some time and it was great to hold such a productive morning, clearing away a significant amount of litter and rubbish.

“We hope to help change the culture which sees our local river, the river Stour, as a place to dump rubbish and litter.

“Sadly the oil and chemicals also dumped in the river affects wildlife. Plastic is toxic and causes widespread environmental damage and pollution throughout its life-cycle.”

Cllr Phipps added: This is the latest in a number of community clean-up events that I have helped to organise.

“It would be nice if we didn’t feel the need to do this work but the volume of rubbish that we have collected in an area not far away from the main road highlights how serious of an issue littering and fly-tipping is.

“Thank you to all the volunteers who really helped clean up this area.”

The next clean-up event being organised by Cllr Phipps and is due to take place in Bath Meadow, Halesowen, on August 18, between 2pm and 4pm.