AN environmental campaign in Halliwell has won a prestigious national award.

It was judged the private/independent programme of the year at the eighth Tidy Britain Group's People and Places conference at the Hotel Majestic in Harrogate yesterday.

Programme manager David Shuttleworth received the trophy from cartoonist Bill Tidy.

David also finished runner-up in the Programme Manager of the Year Award.

The People and Places Programme is a service Tidy Britain group offers local authorities and businesses to help deal with litter and waste and encourage people in their communities to become involved in caring for their environment.

The Halliwell scheme was set up during the bid for city challenge funding in 1994.

Youngsters have become involved in projects such as "The Mean Green Team" and "The Little Litter Pickers."

Tidy Britain Group Director General Professor Graham Ashworth said a recent survey had shown "a marked improvement in both the cleanliness of Halliwell and the way people view litter in their area." Bolton was also runner-up in the local authority programme of the year award.

Rochdale scooped the top prize for the second year running.

Programme manager Trevor Leese, aged 54, from Horwich also narrowly missed out on the Programme Manager of the Year title.

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