VOLUNTEERS in St Boswells have yet again given their village a spring clean.

And, despite a major tidy up last year, they still managed to bag an almost identical 42 bags of discarded rubbish, as well as shopping trolleys and a bike from the River Tweed.

The litter pick was organised by St Boswells Community Council and attracted 33 volunteers.

Chair John Pollock paid tribute to the volunteers who bagged the rubbish as well as retrieving six supermarket trolleys and a bike from the Tweed.

He said: "The significant increase in volunteer numbers from previous years was appreciated but a larger turnout would have enabled us to incorporate more objectives like the Community Woodland, cleaning road signs and benches, etc.

"The amount of discarded paper, plastic and fast food containers was much the same as last year at 42 bags.

"This is slightly disappointing considering that some unsung heroes already pick up litter when out walking or make a point of keeping their own patch clean and tidy.

“It was remarked that much of the litter comes from traffic passing through the village.

"This may be true, and very frustrating, but does not alter the fact that it's here, it’s our village and up to us to remove it”.

A special thanks was offered to Ralph Parker for organising the event and to Dougie Oliver for using his van to collect all the filled bags and large items to deposit at the Bus Station for uplift by Scottish Borders Council.

Among the volunteers was local MSP Rachael Hamilton

The Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire Member of the Scottish Parliament said: "The spring clean was a great success and the volunteers worked hard to keep St Boswells looking its best.

“We collected a whopping 42 bags of rubbish, which is a great achievement but sadly highlights how much litter there was out and about around St Boswells.

“Not only is it unsightly to see rubbish lying around, but plastic pollution is entering our watercourses, such as the River Tweed, and this is affecting our beautiful wildlife.

“Credit should go to the organisers who took the initiative to organise the successful spring clean.

“People should be taking their litter home and recycling, it is disgraceful that people continue to litter”.