MORE than 2,500 volunteers devoted almost 5,000 hours of their time to cleaning up their communities.

Durham County Council worked in partnership with Darlington Borough Council to organise events as part of LitterFreeDurham’s annual Big Spring Clean campaign.

Schools, community groups, parish councils, Greenpeace, Scouts and Guides, youth groups and the Environment Agency all got involved with picking up litter.

The Environment Agency used specialist equipment to remove debris and a tree, weighing 2.5 tonnes, from the River Gaunless, in Bishop Auckland, while 30 bags of litter were picked up from along the riverbank at the same time.

Pupils from Stanley Crook Primary School collected 26 bags of rubbish from the playground near Jobson Terrace and 2.5 tonnes of rubbish was also collected from Darlington’s River Skerne.

Ian Hoult, neighbourhood protection manager at the county council, said: “It was incredible to see so many local people get involved with this year’s Big Spring Clean campaign.

“We’d like to thank all volunteers who gave up their time to make a difference in tidying up our towns and villages.”

Councillor Gerald Lee, chairman of LitterFreeDurham, added: “This year, numbers have increased by a staggering 36% - a brilliant turn out by wonderful people who take an active role in doing something positive.

“My thanks to everyone involved including Durham’s Pride Team, Darlington’s Street Scene Officers, the Environment Agency and Arriva.”