Young people set an example for adults as theytook part in a huge clean-up of the area they live in.

More than 40 pupils from Highfield Primary, The Orchards, St Gregory’s RC Primary, St John’s CE Primary, All Saints CE Primary, and St Peter's CE Primary School went on a litter-picking expedition.

They were joined by Cllr Paul Sanders and members of the Highfield Litter Pickers group, colleagues in Botlon at Home's Neighbourhood Services Team and others.

They managed to collect a total of 16 bags of rubbish along with a toilet seat and a broom handle and the activity was a great opportunity for participants - especially primary school children - to learn about litter and the impact it can have on the environment.

The session was organised by Highfield Primary School and, going forward, Bolton at Home plan on introducing more opportunities for children to get involved in litter picking and other environmental activities through their ‘Junior Green Inspectors’ project.

The project is aimed at children in Years Five and Six and involves one-to-two-hour sessions at schools to raise awareness of environmental issues and things we can do to help.

Fly-tipped waste was discovered more than 1,000 times in Bolton in the space of a year, figures have previously shown, as litter-picking groups work tirelessly to keep the borough clean.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) figures reveal there were 1,184 fly-tipping incidents in Bolton in the year to March 2022 – though this was down from 1,250 the 12 months before.

A significant amount of fly-tipping in the area in the latest 12-month figures was discovered on back alleyways, 54 per cent, and on council land, 22 per cent.

Of the discarded waste, the largest proportion was household waste, 45 per cent, followed by household black bin bags at 24 per cent.

The data also shows £33,060 was paid by councils on removing large incidents of fly-tipping in Bolton.

Bolton Council has issued a warning to fly-tippers as they continue to crack down on fly-tipping.

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @chloewjourno.