A TEAM of volunteers tackled Bournemouth’s most badly-littered areas during a ‘spring clean’ of the town.

Organised by the Bournemouth Town Centre BID (Business Improvement District), the Big Bournemouth Clean Up saw around 40 helpers work their way down Old Christchurch Road, through the Square, and up to the Triangle and Poole Hill, targeting side streets and alleyways along the way.

Thirteen large bin bags of litter, including needles, bottles, and cans, were collected at one of the town centre’s biggest eyesores, Dalkeith Steps.

In January, the Daily Echo reported that residents refuse to use the footpath, which links Richmond Gardens to Old Christchurch Road, because of the litter.

Steve Hughes, manager of the BID, said the aim of the clean-up was to raise awareness of littering and restore people’s pride in the town.

“The priority for us is making sure when people arrive to Bournemouth, they get a good first impression," he said.

"At the moment, if they walk from Richmond Hill car park down Dalkeith Steps, they don’t get a good first impression.

“The council do a good job in getting the streets ready every day, but it is unfortunate some people don’t use the bins provided.”

He added: “We had a really good response from businesses and individuals. We weren’t simply litter picking – we were tackling areas that don’t get tackled every day. Some land is under private ownership so the council doesn’t clean it every day.

“We did this as a one-off, but we want to raise awareness that if everyone does their bit, it will help bring back people’s pride in the town.”

Members of community group Dorset Devils helped with the litter pick, as well as youth action group the Chatterboxes and representatives from the Business in the Community Healthy High Streets initiative, which aims to revitalise town centres.

Shops including Wilko, M&S, Greggs, Cosy Club, and EE take part in the scheme.

The volunteers collected 30 large bin bags of litter in the town centre during the two-hour clean up.

Steve added: “We’re trying to get more people to come to the town to shop, visit and work. It’s really important to present Bournemouth in the best possible light as we want more people to come and set up business here."