We express our gratitude to Northwich Rugby Club members Steve Farrell, Nij Forest, Joe Carrol, Richard Lloyd, MIke Naylor & Sam Naylor for their efforts.

Volunteers from Northwich Town Council, Northwich Rugby Club, Northwich Clean Team and staff from Cheshire West and Chester Council's (CWAC) enforcement and Streetscene teams tackled the area, a playing field by Greenall Road bordered by railway lines, in a Give and Gain impact day on Wednesday.

Cllr Andy Stott, Northwich town mayor, said: "I think it's fantastic that people are coming together and giving their time up to look after the area. "Now the community needs to support us to help keep it clean."

The playing field, formerly used by Victoria Road Primary School, will now be regularly maintained by Northwich Town Council.

Chris Shaw, Northwich Town Council's chief executive, said: "As a town council we are doing a lot more for the community and working with partners like the rugby club, Waitrose, Street Scene and Weaver Vale Housing Trust to improve the area.

"People have walked across the field while we've been clearing it and said 'this is fantastic, it's been a mess for 20 years'. "There's been lots of anti-social behaviour and we're trying to eradicate that".

Paul Blackburn, regulatory enforcement officer for CWAC, said: "People just don't think about dropping litter and it's a habit we're trying to break".

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