MORE than 20 communities in East Hampshire enjoyed a spring clean last weekend as volunteers got behind the national ‘Clean for the Queen’ campaign.

Community-conscious residents gathered to pick litter and tidy their neighbourhoods ahead of the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations in June.

Digby, Aggie and Danuta Longland joined members of Alton Eastbrooke and Wooteys Residents’ Association who turned out on Saturday.

They collected rubbish along the grass verge on Gilbert White Way, close to the Cadnam Farm development site.

And a small pride of Alton Lions turned out in the bright cold on Sunday morning to ‘Clean for the Queen’ around Kings Pond.

Six Lions collected seven sacks full of rubbish, mainly bottles, glass, plastic, and food wrappings.

East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) and its contractor, The Landscape Group, provided litter-pickers, bin bags and high-visibility jackets and disposed of the collected rubbish.

Julie Butler, the district council’s portfolio holder for customer relations, said: “What a fantastic response East Hampshire residents have given to the Clean for the Queen campaign!

“It’s great to see so many different parts of the district signing up to the scheme so whole-heartedly.

“We all want to see East Hampshire clean and clear of litter. EHDC spends more than £300,000 a year litter-picking the worst affected areas. We must all work together to keep the district looking its best.”

Groups volunteering to clean for the Queen in the Alton area included the Alton Society, Alton Matters, Alton Lions, Alton Eastbrooke and Wooteys Residents’ Association, Medstead Parish Council, Farringdon Parish Council, Lasham Village Committee, and Froxfield and Privett Litterati.

Meanwhile, house leaders at Eggar’s School have been working with the district council and Radian Social Housing to promote a cleaner Alton and litter-free streets and schools.

Eggar’s pupils were asked to design a poster promoting recycling and highlighting the issues of litter, and district councillor Dean Phillips and Radian representative Olivia Carr visited the school last week to deliver a beautiful artist studio set on behalf of Radian, and to congratulate the competition winners, whose posters will be displayed in all the bus shelters in Alton.

Prizes winners were Charli Holland (year 11), George Kitching (year seven), and Summer Deakin (year seven).