A COMMUNITY effort to clean up a popular county walking route has finally been completed.

After three years of working, volunteers have cleared an area of Hartlebury Common of litter and fly-tipped rubbish.

This is after more than 500 hours work and £26,000 in funding from the county council.

Excavators were needed for the work after years of illegal waste dumping went unanswered.

As a result, the Lower Heath area of the Common has been put back into a fit state for walkers and animals.

Martin Barnett, countryside sites officer for Worcestershire County Council, said: "This is a proud moment for all involved in this work where a persistent issue of illegal dumping of waste has been addressed.

"A great challenge overcome by the persistent work and passion of volunteers, local people and our small team of WCC officers."

The volunteers have been working with the council and the Hartlebury Common Local Group and heading up the group are Karen Blanchfield and Pauline Round.

Karen Blanchfield, said: “I’m not normally lost for words and was completely speechless when Martin showed myself and Pauline the area in question with the sheer size of the fly-tipped area and the mammoth task they lay ahead.

"To me, it looked like a landfill site, it was higher than three metres tall and it stretched hundreds of metres."

Pauline Round, said: "We approached many businesses and residents on Sandy Lane industrial estate to help keep the area litter free and they were all very supportive.

"Thanks to the dedication of WCC rangers and all the volunteers we have now after three years transformed this wonderful nature reserve to how mother nature intended it to be.

"This part of the common is now a haven for community members, local businesses, the wildlife, and plantations. I would like to thank everyone who helped us with the epic community project."

All the volunteers involved have agreed to maintain the area with a monthly litter pick with the assistant countryside sites officer David Shephard and will be having a further litter-pick on December 20 ahead of monthly checks in future.