LITTER picking volunteers are being rallied again by the council to help keep the streets clean.

So called “street champions” – volunteers in Darlington who pick up litter – are being issued with orange bags bearing the words “Helping Keep Darlington Tidy”.

The new bags have been introduced by Darlington Borough Council so they are easily spotted when they are left out for collection.

Councillor Nick Wallis, cabinet member for leisure and the local environment, said: “Litter is everyone’s problem and we have to tackle it together.

“Cuts to our budget mean we’ve had to reduce street cleaning to minimum levels. This has meant a reduction in Street Scene staff from 31 to 19, which has a clear impact on how often we are able to clean the streets and empty public waste bins.

“We simply cannot do as much as we did before and we’ll be relying on our army of litter heroes even more in the future.”

All volunteers are provided with the equipment they need, including the orange bags.