STUDENTS from Linwood School have been campaigning to solve the problem of litter in West Howe inside and outside of the school building.

Six students from Springwood Campus, which is part of Linwood School and supports children and young people with autism, visited a park as part of their learning.

It was here that they noticed how much litter was left in the public space.

Back in class, the students learnt about recycling, the problems with littering and even went out litter picking, which led to creating a poster to raise awareness of the problem.

Pluto Class teacher, Lisa Mitchell said: "I am incredibly proud of the students in Pluto Class. They identified the problem with litter in the local area and asked what they could do about it.

"When learning about the impact on the environment, completing litter picking and creating the poster, they worked collaboratively and engaged throughout."

When students attended the park to litter pick, they filled four bin liners with rubbish dropped along the roads and pavements surrounding their campus in one hour.

Student Callum said: "There's loads of litter, which is really bad."

Classmates Jordan and Freya said: "We have to sort this problem and we need to work as a team."

All the students in Pluto Class worked together to create a poster to raise awareness of the problem.

Student Dominic is concerned for the local wildlife, while Brooke is hoping that people in the local area are inspired by their efforts, saying, "You need to stop littering and go litter picking - it's fun."

According to Ms Mitchell, all of the students have worked hard and shown passion for caring for their local environment.

They will continue to go litter picking regularly and will share the poster within the local community.

The poster created by the class will be included in a future school newsletter.