a volunteer task force which aims to keep Tavistock rubbish-free has recruited a new 'star'.

Eight-year-old border collie Womble and owner Elaine McMahon were among the 25 volunteers to join the Tidy Tavy action group on their monthly mission to clear rubbish from the town's beauty spots, hedgerows and lay-bys over the May bank holiday weekend.

Womble formed part of a group that targeted litter in waste ground to the side of the BMX track, where she retrieved cans and bottles from under trees, brambles and other hard-to-reach places.

Group co-ordinator Pamela Steele said: 'Womble was a complete star and has now been adopted as the Tidy Tavy mascot.'

The team also covered the Anderton lay-by, Pixon Lane, Whitchurch Road, Benson Meadow and the skate park, the canal path along to Crowndale and the cycle path around the perimeter of Tavistock College and football field.

Litter was also cleared from areas including the back of the Wharf, Garden Lane and Church Lane.

Thirty-two bags of rubbish were collected, which included items such as three traffic cones, a wheel trim, a large piece of wood, and a child's scooter which was pulled out of the canal. A VW car key on a fob was also found under a hedge on Plymouth Road and is being held at the Times front desk.

The volunteers went out with new equipment funded by South West Water, including six extra-long litter pickers and 20 'handi-hoops' to hold rubbish sacks open and make the litter-pickers' jobs easier, with Phil Jarman transporting all the rubbish collected to a central pick-up point.

Mrs Steele said: 'Its great to see a steadily increasing volunteer turnout for our Tidy Tavy days and they seem to be making a difference, with the amount of litter having to be cleared from some areas, visibly reducing since we launched our first event in October.

'What's still sad is the vast number of cigarette ends outside front doors. It would be good to see more businesses provide some sort of ash tray outside their doors for smokers to stub their butts out, in.

'Another thing that would help reduce the amount of litter blowing around the town is for property owners to remove and dispose of any rubbish from their hedges, prior to strimming them. Although it's annoying that anyone should dispose of their rubbish in someone else's hedge or garden, we've found that if the hedges are cut before the litter is removed, it ends up being shredded and gets dispersed over a much wider area.'

The next Tidy Tavy day is on Saturday June 9, with new volunteers welcome to turn up on the day at the Wharf car park at 10am.