As part of Not In My Neighbourhood Week, year 6 pupils at Sandal Magna J&I School collected 26 bags of rubbish from their school field last Friday.

And among the trash was a mattress, an old pram, and even a kitchen cooker.

Year six teacher Louise Sennett said: “We have a really large field and with the amount of building work going on in the area at the moment, we’re getting all sorts of rubbish dumped out there.

“I think all the pupils just wanted to make the school a lot more pleasant environment, and it has made a real difference.

“Even the pupils who wouldn’t usually get involved in this kind of thing were really enthusiastic to fill up their bags.”

Wakefield Council’s environment services team told the youngsters about how litter and recycling is sorted out.

And the neighbourhood patrollers explained to the pupils about litter fines.

Mrs Sennett said: “I don’t think the children realised just how many agencies were involved in tackling litter and waste management, and they really enjoyed finding out more.”