SOURTON'S litter problem is becoming a thing of the past thanks to parishioner Avril Leonard who rallied the troops on Sunday in a clearing up operation aided by the resident donkeys.
Bramble, Daisy May and Rippator were offered by Sourton resident Jill Gill after an appeal for helpers went into the local newsletter.
So instead of bin bags full of rubbish, donkey carts and baskets were filled to the brim as the volunteers went about their task.
Mrs Leonard said she had the idea to 'clean up' Sourton when the parish council were planning ways to mark the millennium.
'I thought it would be good to start the next thousand years with Sourton looking really clean and tidy,' she said.
'Litter is such a problem in this village. I see a lot of beautiful places whilst I am horse riding and rambling around here and they are just spoilt by the litter everywhere.'
The byroads, bridlepaths and footpaths have been tackled by Mrs Leonard and her bunch of helpers and Fountain Forestry who own the woodland at Thorndon Cross have promised to clean up after carrying out work in that area.
'I have also written to West Devon Borough Council for help with the main road because the traffic is very fast moving and could be dangerous when there is just a few of us picking up litter,' she said.
The one and a half mile stretch of the West Devon Drive in the Sourton Parish provided quite a bit of work for the litterbusters.
The road, which finishes at Lifton, is currently undergoing a major programme in conjunction with the local authorities to clear it of scrub and bramble. The work is being done to enhance the countryside and encourage people to use the route because it has wonderful views of Dartmoor.
Mrs Leonard is hoping the borough council will be able to install litter bins in several locations in Sourton to stop the problem of litter flaring up again.
'We have sorted out the millennium bug now it's time for the litter bug,' she said.