LITTLE litter pickers are following in the footsteps of famous children's fictional TV characters.

Inspired by Uncle Bulgaria and his friends who tidy up after humans on Wimbledon Common, Little Wombles of Winsford have vowed to pick up rubbish dumped on the ground.

The idea is the brainchild of Steve Edwards who launched Winsford Litter Project a year ago to restore pride in the town.

"Our group is going from strength to strength," said Steve, who lives near The Flashes. "We now have more than 460 members. So many kids go out litter picking with their parents, I thought it would be good for them to have t heir own group.

"They needed high visibility jackets to keep them safe. We want to say a huge thank you to The Rotary Club of Winsford and Middlewich for donating 17 jackets."

Each little womble is given a jacket, a litter picking stick and a membership card.

"Every time they do a litter pick, they colour in a bag inside their card and once they have completed 10 they will receive a prize and another card," said Steve.

"Everyone loves the idea. Once children litter pick, they won't drop and hopefully they will pass this message on to their friends."

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Volunteers have transformed blackspots across the town.

Children are inspired by fictional TV characters the Wombles Picture:Press Association

Children are inspired by fictional TV characters the Wombles Picture:Press Association

Children are inspired by fictional TV characters the Wombles Picture:Press Association

"We did a huge clean of the Greenfields estate and filled more than 40 bags," said Steve. "We found mattresses, dinghies, bottles, a microwave, hoover and kettles.

"It now looks immaculate. It's all about getting pride back into these places so hopefully people will now do their bit to keep it clean and tidy.

"We plan to blitz the Dene estate at the weekend and Crook Lane and Bradbury Road in Wharton over the May Bank holiday at the end of the month."

Volunteers have set up three burrows at Crook Lane, the Dene estate and Glebe Green and are looking for co-ordinators to run three more at The Over, Greenfields and The Grange.

"The aim is to mobilise local people, using their local knowledge to tidy and maintain their local area," said Steve.

"Pride for your local area starts from outside your front door and by creating these burrows we aim to create nice and tidy areas of Winsford that residents can be proud of.

"We hope to change people's behaviour."

Anyone able to help can contact The Winsford Litter Project on Facebook.