THE Tidy Tavi group was delighted with Saturday morning's clean-up activities for a variety of reasons.

Most importantly, 16 volunteers turned out to help, allowing a greater area of Tavistock to be visited than has recently been the case.

The teams included members of the Meadows Makeover group and an encouraging number of young people and children — including a toddler who enjoyed the outing in her pushchair. Also, much to everyone's relief and amazement, the weather was dry once again.

A spokesman for Tidy Tavi said: 'The effects of the recent storms had evidently spread the detritus created during the festive period to generate greater than normal accumulations of litter around the town. The storms had also soaked a lot of the paper waste, making the waste sacks heavy and unwieldy.

'Nevertheless, a considerable volume of rubbish was collected to be disposed of by West Devon Borough Council.'

In a new initiative, the Tidy Tavi teams reported several instances of dog fouling to the appropriate authorities. These included particularly unpleasant examples in Market Road and directly outside St Rumon's School.

The teams will also be on the lookout for fresh graffiti in support of the local police on future forays.

The spokesman added: 'If you would like to help in the effort to ensure that Tavistock remains the beautiful, clean and tidy town it is now, please join the Tidy Tavi volunteers outside The Wharf at 9.50am on Saturday, February 1.

'All you need to bring is a decent pair of gloves. Wellies are also a good option! Litter pickers, rubbish bags and high visibility tabards are provided for all participants.'