ILKLEY people are being urged to put waste in its place by taking part in a litter-picking weekend.

Organisers of the three-day clean up are hoping it will lead to a regular programme of activity to help keep the town tidy. Ilkley Parish Council is working in partnership with Bradford Council and in conjunction with the area's MP John Grogan to organise the initiative.

Last year over the Great British Spring Clean weekend, Keep Britain Tidy supported more than 300,000 people, across 13,000 organised events to clear more than 1,500 tonnes of litter from streets, parks and beaches.

This year they want to make it bigger and better and in Ilkley the public are being invited to play their part.

In a statement the parish council said: "We want to hear from people who’ve identified an area of concern and who could spend just an hour or two helping to clean it up. Equipment, including litter picks, gloves, bags and vests will be made available.

"Our initial focus is to do something (or some things) over the weekend of 2- 4 March but we’d like to encourage a regular programme of activity and support anyone who already does ‘their bit’ in tackling litter. We’re open to suggestions and lots of small steps make a big impact."

Ilkley and Keighley MP John Grogan said: " "Next to Parking litter is the number one topic in my postbag from Ilkley residents. When I attended an event in Parliament I thought that we should try and do something locally. Both Ilkley Parish Council and Bradford Council were thinking on very similar lines but now we need the citizens of Ilkley to play their part."

Anyone who is interested in taking part is asked to contact Keighley Area Co-ordinator’s Office, email Sue Gledhill at susan.gledhill@bradford.gov.uk or call 01535 618008. Or they can contact Ilkley Parish Council on 01943 436212 or Clerk@ilkleyparishcouncil.ilkley.org.

The council says nationally 30 million tonnes of litter is dropped every year - leading to a£1 billion bill for street cleaning.