COMMUNITY-spirited volunteer litter pickers from Wyre Forest teamed up with a council to tidy up a nature reserve.

The Pickup Artists helped collect 14 bags full of litter from the top end of Hartlebury Common to boost wildlife and the appearance of the area.

Members of the group said they had huge support from the Hartlebury Common local group and Worcestershire County Council officers to enable the event to take place.

They were also joined by members of the Junior Pickup Artists Maisie Snow, Hannah Kehoe and Alice Pears who helped with the clear up.

Karen Blanchfield, from The Pickup Artists, said: “This was a huge success, clearing the top area of Hartlebury Common and, in our hours' volunteering, we collected 14 bags of litter.

“Our nature reserves are full of wildlife and it is extremely important that the area is maintained and free of litter.

“It was our first time working with Worcestershire County Council. It was made possible by Mike Lomax from Hartlebury Common local group who works tirelessly with volunteers from the community and Worcestershire County Council to keep our nature reserve to a high standard. This keeps the facility open for us all to use.

“A special thank you must also go to Martin Barnett from Worcestershire County Council as he organised the 'red tape' for our volunteers to go and do what they do best and clear up the litter.”

She added: “Hartlebury Common is such a vast area and The Pickup Artists will be returning to do another events soon to tackle the other areas within the common grounds.

“It is such a reward to know that our volunteers’ hard work since January over Stourport, Kidderminster and Bewdley is paying off and giving us the opportunity to grow in to more communities in Worcestershire.

“Our volunteer base is also growing and today we had some new volunteers from the community of Wychavon who would like to do more is their areas.”