AN ANNUAL event which aims to spread blessings across the community took place recently in Richmond, Catterick and Barnard Castle.

Members of the Influence Church, which has its main base in Victoria Road, Richmond, took to the streets on Saturday, June 13 to pick up litter, clean graffiti, trim overgrown hedges and give out small gifts to residents.

Ben Dowding, pastor at the Influence Church, said the event, called No Strings, is now in its ninth year and had more than 200 people involved in spreading some love in the church’s local area.

He said: “It’s literally a way to spread blessings in our community with no strings attached.

“We go out in teams and tackle some painting of a communal area, pick up rubbish, do some gardening, and then we also have a team of ‘gifters’ who walk through the town centres and hand out flowers, chocolates and sweets to people.

“Sometimes people are a bit taken aback by us or try to give us money for them – but now a lot of people are used to it and get really excited to see us.”

Mr Dowding said in previous years the group has collected around 170 bags of rubbish or garden waste, and have given out around 500 gifts.

He added: “We just want to go and make a difference in our local community – and it seems especially poignant this year after the recent fire in the town to go out and make a positive impact.”

For information on the church visit www.influencechurch.co.uk.