Students clean up their streets

The young people, from Pinders Primary School and City Academy, took part in a community clean-up around College Grove. Some of the students picked up general litter while others collected alcohol related litter.

Coun Stuart Heptinstall said: “It was great to see young people from the area taking pride in their community, with children from Pinders Primary School and City Academy coming together to do such a fantastic job as part of the Community Alcohol Partnership. The amount of alcohol related litter found in hedge rows and around play areas was particularly disappointing.”

The children set out from Lightwaves Community Trust building and covered the adjacent play area, down Lower York Street to Pinderfields Road and then back up to the community centre via Smirthwaite Street.

They collected an extraordinary amount of litter in the hour they were out.

The event was organised by Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP), which aims to tackle public underage drinking through co-operation between alcohol retailers and local stakeholders, such as Trading Standards, police, local authority licensing teams, schools and health networks. Partners will now visit shops in the area with photographic evidence of the alcohol related litter to raise awareness of the problem generated from local businesses.