TWO schools teamed up to tackle the scourge of litter in Dorchester by taking part in a national litter picking initiative.

Students from Damers First School and The Thomas Hardye School joined in with the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) ‘green clean’.

The green clean ran throughout the whole of September across the UK.

CPRE challenged children and students across the country to find as many plastic bottles and cans as they could.

The students walked from Damers First School to Hardyes, picking up litter as they went. In an hour and a half they collected 59 plastic bottles and cans, which was considerably better than last year’s total of 156.

Maddy Haughton-Boakes from CPRE, said: “Litter doesn’t belong in our countryside and through the collective effort of local people we can transform our green spaces back to a beautiful litter-free state.

“Nobody wants to see their local area awash with litter, and that’s why it’s fantastic to see the schools and communities across Dorset get involved.”

Edd Moore, Eco Coordinator at Damers First School, said: “It is fantastic for the students to be taking part in the green clean again, sharing their knowledge and passion to make Dorchester and the UK as sustainable as possible.

“To litter pick the same route as last year and find the area much cleaner shows that our children are being listened to and are inspiring the local community and other volunteering organisations.”

Lorraine Bowley, a deputy leader at The Thomas Hardye School, said: “We were delighted that our students showed a keen interest in looking after our environment. They were proactive in making a difference in our community.

“It was lovely to see students working together with the same message.

“We look forward to further projects to enable us to become effective local and global citizens.”