Volunteers are needed for big Horncastle tidy up

The town council has entered Horncastle in the 2017 Best Kept Village and Small Town competition.

The competition is organised by the Campaign to Protect Rural England and is sponsored by many organisations including Lincolnshire County Council and East Lindsey District Council.

Judges will visit all the hopefuls and will award points for presentation and overall tidiness.

Ahead of the judging, the town council wants people to join a ‘community clean up’ on Saturday, June 10, from 2-4pm.

Councillors will be taking part themselves - depending on other commitments.

Invitations have gone out to local groups and organisations, including the Scouts and Brownies who have helped in previous clean-ups.

Town clerk Amanda Bushell said she hoped residents would come forward.

Mrs Bushell said: “All volunteers will be welcome, so please come along and lend a hand. It’s a great opportunity to make a difference to your community.”

Volunteers will be litter picking in designated streets, cleaning bins and phone boxes, removing old posters and pulling up weeds. All equipment will be provided.

Judges from the competition are expected in Horncastle later next month.

They will focus on business premises, community buildings, playing fields, children’s play areas, schools, churches, chapels, open spaces and war memorials.

The competition will be held over three rounds with the winners set to be announced in August.

The town tidy up comes after a recent clean-up of the town’s rivers, organised by RiverCare.

The session yielded a good catch, including a BMX bike, two steel office armchair frames, a beach towel and a TV. There were some items too large to carry back to the Scout Hut - including a large screen television.

and two 8ft by 4ft sheets of plywood - so they were left to be picked up by ELDC

f Keep Britain Tidy.

The next tidy-up session will be held in six to eight weeks time and new volunteers are always welcome. Look out for posters or call 01507 525071 for more information.