VOLUNTEERS hit the streets of a problem-hit Weymouth estate to clear up dozens of bags of litter.

In a show of community spirit, a team of litter pickers in Littlemoor collected 35 bags of rubbish in one day.

They are now appealing for residents to keep the neighbourhood tidy, and take pride in the area.

It comes after it was announced by police and the local authority that a dispersal order will be placed on Littlemoor from March 1 in a new clampdown to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

There has been a spate of vehicle break-ins and arson attacks on cars in the area, with more than a dozen arrests in recent weeks.

Trish Randell, Synergy housing officer for the area, said the litter pick was a successful day and urged more people to take part next time.

She said: “It was a cold day out there but quite successful all in all.

“Hopefully now it’s tidy again it will inspire people to take more pride in the neighbourhood.

“It would be really nice if people could take more care over their litter.”

She added: “We would have liked to see a few more residents out and helping, it wasn’t a good turnout from tenants on the day.

“Weymouth Community Volun-teers came out and we were really lucky to have them.

“When we do the next clean-up it would be great if we could have more people from the estate to help out.”

Jan Hinton, chairman of 3Zone neighbourhood panel, said the area looks much better now.

She said: “There were 13 of us all together including some Brownies from the area and the Weymouth Community Volunteers. I really want to say a huge thank you to them, they were amazing.

“It was really cold but we warmed up in our big coats and had hot soup and curry for lunch.

“The estate looks so much better now – we got an awful lot done and are really pleased.

“It was worth doing and I just hope people will take their rubbish home with them and not leave it for the next litter pick.”

She added: “The rubbish will be back to how it was in a few weeks time but we are planning another pick for the summer.

“If everyone did a little bit we wouldn’t have so much to collect on these litter picks.

“We could have done with some more volunteers but we made the most of what we had.

“All in all it was a good day and everyone enjoyed the lunch.”