Volunteers from Newark’s largest infrastructure projects have litter picked as part of the Great British Spring Clean.

Volunteers from Newark’s major infrastructure projects spent hours collecting litter as part of the Great British Spring Clean.

Twenty-three volunteers working on the A46 Newark Bypasss improvement collected litter from Farndon underpass, Great North Road and Winthorpe underpass.

The event was organised in conjunction with Newark and Sherwood District Council who supplied the litter picking equipment and arranged to collect the rubbish at the end.

The volunteers included teams from Urban and Civic, Breheny and ECL Civils.

Between them, they collected 45 bags of rubbish including a tent, a set of keys and several number plates.

National Highways senior project manager Phil Boffey, who took part in the event, said: “It was great to get out and do something positive for the community in which we are working, especially as we were joined by colleagues from one of Newark’s other big infrastructure projects.

“It was surprising how much rubbish we collected. Littering is a dreadful social problem. It’s not just unsightly, it can have a deadly impact on wildlife.

“If people don’t drop litter in the first place it wouldn’t need to be picked up, so we urge people to take their litter home.”

The Great British Spring Clean campaign is the nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign and it takes place from March 15 to March 31.

National Highways has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of litter to wildlife and is responsible for the removal of litter from motorways and some strategic A-roads.