Staff from a Weymouth pub traded pint glasses for gloves and bin bags when they carried out their annual town litter pick.

The Ship Inn, which is managed by Hall and Woodhouse, got involved in Founders Sweep, a company-wide cleaning initiative.

A litter pick was held last Sunday, with four members of staff coming together to help tidy up areas of the town including Chapelhay and the Rodwell Trail.

Natasha Larkham, who manages the pub alongside her husband Justin, said they collected more than three bags of rubbish.

Speaking about the clean-up, Mrs Larkham said the amount of rubbish in Weymouth was ‘ridiculous’ and that there was a lot of discarded plastic.

Despite this, Mrs Larkham said the litter pick was good fun, and added that Chapelhay residents were poking their heads out of their windows cheering them on.

She added: “Next year feel free to join us!”

Founders Sweepers litter campaign was established 10 years ago, in association with Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean initiative. It was introduced by Hall and Woodhouse to celebrate the day the company was founded in1777.

A total of 15 pubs across Dorset joined in litter picks last weekend, helping to tidy up bustling streets, hedgerows and green spaces.

Anthony Woodhouse, Managing Director at Hall & Woodhouse, says: “Working to support our local communities is something we are incredibly passionate about, and keeping them clean and safe is so important.

“As a thriving hub in a local community, our managed public houses take part in this campaign as a team so they can really make a difference in the neighbourhoods in which they work. Litter not only spoils how our beautiful landscapes look, it also creates toxins and pollutants that are harmful to the land, wildlife and livestock.”

He adds: “Our teams really did their best with the 2018 big clean-up, and after all the hard work we provided them all with a bottle of Badger beer and Founders’ Day celebration cake.”