A TEAM of volunteers are hoping to transform two East Renfrewshire villages into a waste-free haven.

The Neilston and Uplawmoor Litter Pickers, set up by Vicki Wood in 2018, are becoming increasingly frustrated about the amount of rubbish being dumped on the streets in their communities.

In response, the group, which has more than 15 members, is staging litter-picks each week, with hundreds of bags of garbage collected.

Martin Muir, who is among those giving up their free time in a bid to keep the villages looking spick and span, told the Barrhead News: “We have been doing as many litter-picks as we can.

“At the weekend, myself and other volunteers did a litter pick down near the mill in Neilston and we lifted 26 bags of rubbish within an hour. We could easily go back and do another 26 bags, as it was littered with rubbish.

Barrhead News:

“We are fed up with the amount of litter that is scattered across the village and East Renfrewshire as a whole. We hope to make it a nicer place to live and to help the wildlife and the environment by lifting the plastic and waste out of the hedgerows and so on.”

Recently, Martin’s employers, Sunbelt Rentals, provided the initiative with traffic management signs to make motorists aware of when the volunteers are out and about.

“Last week was my work’s environment and health and safety week and they very kindly gave us two signs.” Martin added. “These are to make people aware of who we are and what we’re doing.

“It has created quite a bit of interest, which is great.”

If you want to help keep the villages looking tidy, visit here for more information.