PUPILS at Dorchester Middle School have been praised for helping to keep the community clean of litter.

The young litter-pickers collected 50kg of rubbish during a tidy of the school grounds.

Pupils were given litter-picking devices, gloves and sacks by West Dorset District Council.

Dorchester councillor David Barrett and West Dorset Services manager Ian Doyle congratulated the children at an assembly.

Headteacher Paul Chadwick said: “We were delighted to have support from the district council to help us clear the litter from the school grounds.

“The whole school community has seen the benefits of the improved school environment.

“We have been looking at ways we can reduce litter in the school grounds permanently and have linked this with our healthy schools policy and asked pupils to eat fruit at morning break and anyone having a snack with a wrapper should eat it in places where there is a bin nearby.

“We have also put flaps on the litter bins to make sure that rubbish stayed in the bin during bad weather and did not get blown on to the grounds.”

The district council has now set the school a new challenge.

The pupils have been invited to enter a competition to produce the best and most innovative litter prevention plan for Dorchester.

The competition will be judged in February and the top three entries will win £25, £15 and £10.

Council leader Robert Gould said: “We have been very pleased to see how the whole school has been working together to get rid of litter in the school grounds.

“The district council is very keen to encourage everyone in West Dorset to keep their neighbourhoods tidy.

“The more people that get involved in reducing and clearing up litter, the bigger the difference that can be made.”