STUDENTS at Worcester College of Technology have been helping to combat litter along the city’s scenic riverside.

Eight young people attending a Lifeskills programme for students with learning difficulties, working with the college’s EcoCampus group, took part in a litter pick in St Andrew’s Gardens.

The students have been studying the impact of litter on the local environment and volunteered to help staff from Worcester City Council tackle the area, as well as learn about recycling.

Principal Stuart Laverick said: “Many students as well as members of the public have expressed their concerns to me about the rubbish that is only too regularly left scattered around St Andrew’s Gardens, the public space that surrounds the college’s All Saints building.

“The college is working with the city council, police and local retailers to improve conditions in the park. It was no surprise that we were able to find many willing student volunteers to help with a recent clean-up operation despite the valid observation that very little of this mess is down to them or their fellow students studying at WCT.

“One student summed this issue up nicely when they stated that people should have the right to high-quality green spaces in their towns and cities but with this right goes the responsibility to treat this shared space with respect.

“Respect goes to all our students and the others that are helping to clean up for those who are less thoughtful.”

Park warden Michelle Newell said the council was keen to work with the college on future litter picks.

Last month, your Worcester News reported how readers were outraged by piles of rubbish discarded in the gardens over the Easter holidays and called for litter louts to be fined.

Decorator Danny McIntyre was so incensed by the mess that he took photographs of local wildlife having to pick its way through the debris.

But the 40-year-old from St John’s, who takes his dog Arthur for daily walks along the riverside, said he had noticed a marked improvement in recent weeks.

He said: “It started straightaway. I walk down there quite a lot and there’s been a big improvement. Before, it was terrible. I’ve been keeping a bit of an eye on it. In the morning, it’s all cleaned. Of course I’m pleased – I like our city and I don’t like seeing it like that.”

A city council spokesperson said an extra member of staff had been taken on for the summer season.