Councils across West Dorset are being invited to team up with other community organisations and give the county a spring clean.

Keep Britain Tidy's campaign The Big Tidy Up is England's biggest litter pick, and West Dorset District Council is getting behind the April event.

Council leader Robert Gould said: “We are very privileged to live in an area such as West Dorset and should do everything we can to help keep the district looking great.

“A Spring Clean does not only help the environment but is a great opportunity for communities to get together to keep their local areas tidy.”

More than 101,000 bags of rubbish have been collected across the country since the campaign launched in September 2008.

It is aimed at areas such as parks and gardens, which are not usually covered by the district council’s normal street cleaning and rubbish collection rounds.

West Dorset District Council will provide gloves, a risk assessment check form, a guide to organising a Big Tidy Up event, and deliver and collect the rubbish bags for any groups planning on taking part.

The Big Tidy Up will also send organisers bags, hi-viz tabards and posters, badges and stickers to promote the event.

For more information about how to organise a litter pick this April, contact Jackie Thomas or Simon Fox on 01305 251010 for an application form.

All forms must be returned to Streetscene, Poundbury Depot, Poundbury West Industrial Estate, Dorchester, DT1 2PG by March 16. For more information visit: www.thebigtidyup.org.