AN area of natural beauty in Worcester that is blighted by litter will be the site of a huge clear up tomorrow.

Nunnery Wood, which is part of Worcester Woods Country Park, behind County Hall, off Spetchley Road, has about 400,000 visitors each year.

However, not all of these visitors, including those who walk through the woods to get to work and students from the nearby Nunnery Wood High School and Worcester Sixth Form College, take their waste with them.

Rob Stevenson, Worcester Woods countryside officer, said: "The rubbish is things like crisp packets and drinks cans.

"It does look unsightly and litter can cause harm to the wildlife, especially bottles with small mammals getting in but not being able to get back out.

"The vegetation dies down in autumn and winter and the litter becomes more apparent so this is a good time of the year to do a litter-pick."

The Worcester Woods Country Park is about 100 acres with 50 acres of that being Nunnery Wood.

Mr Stevenson added that how much of the wood will be cleared of rubbish will depend on the number of volunteers that attend the litter pick on Sunday.

The event involves the Worcestershire Duckworth Trust, city and county councils. It is part of ITV's Big Clean Up and a news bulletin will be broadcast on Sunday night with an extended programme on Monday evening.

Miranda Genova, from ITV's newsdesk, said: "We are encouraging people to go out and about in the areas that are covered in rubbish and clean them up."

Anyone who wishes to take part in the litter pick should meet outside the Countryside Centre at 11am. Litter pickers and rubbish bags will be provided.