THERE was no festive time off for Gala's hardest-working volunteers last weekend.

The Gala Waterways Group have been cleaning up the river bank for years.

And last weekend a total of 13 volunteers yet again pulled on their gloves to tackle a stretch around the Skinworks Cauld.

As well as collecting 29 kilogrammes of rubbish, which included a bicycle wheel, the group also coppiced trees, removed the prunings and installed one of the nest boxes recently donated by Galashiels Men's Shed.

Sister Syphus from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in St George, Utah was among the volunteers.

She said: "It was fun working with the wonderful people of Galashiels, making the town a cleaner place."

The prunings taken during the morning filled a skip, which was placed on Low Buckholmside Road.

David Usher, secretary of the Gala Waterways Group, added: "We are very grateful to all our volunteers for their hard work, and to Scottish Borders Council for providing a skip and dealing with the prunings."

The next Gala Waterways Group workparty will be on Saturday, February 1.

For more information contact David Usher on davidjusher@btinternet.com or 01896 753620.