A scout group answered the call of Halstead in Bloom and went on a voluntary litter pick to help tidy the town.

The In Bloom team has been appealing for people to come forward and help keep the town rubbish free and Halstead 1st Scout group obliged as dozens of youngsters spent an evening removing litter from the streets.

The scouts met at Halstead Fire Station before heading off towards Kings Road and then onto the High Street on Tuesday night.

After collecting rubbish there, the scouts headed along the Causeway and back to the fire station.

The youngsters were joined by Halstead in Bloom members Julia Smith and Margaret Eskins who also gave a talk on the importance of keeping the environment rubbish free.

Assistant Scout Leader Michelle Claydon said: “Both groups collected a lot of rubbish.

A lot more than the scouts anticipated they would collect.

“They were shocked at the variety of rubbish, beer cans, sweet wrappers, crisp packets, ice lolly wrappers, cable ties but mostly cigarette ends.

“Some of our Richard de Clare attendees were surprised at how much rubbish had accumulated around their school grounds noting they never realised how much rubbish was in the area until they started looking closely and litter picking. They both said they would be more conscious about what happens to their rubbish in future.”