A DEVIZES firm has cleaned up at the National Refuse Championships held in Weston-super-Mare on the Beach Lawns.

Reining champions Grist came out on top in the annual celebration of the people who collect and recycle waste in a test of strength and endurance.

The championships pit 30 teams of waste management firms against each other in a test of strength and endurance.

Three teams of five men and women compete in heats to race over a 50m course with wheelie bins filled with sand before emptying them into a waiting refuse vehicle.

The process is repeated twice as the trucks move towards the finish line. The races culminate in a semi-final and final to determine the winner and runners-up.

Marcus Grist of Grist Environmental and who was the driver of the refuse vehicle said: “It was a great day and the sportsmanship between the teams was fantastic.

"We love the event and we’ve never been beaten over the line, although we did come second one year due to penalties. Our families had a superb time too; the children loved getting inside the trucks, as well as all the giveaways. There was a lot of pressure on us this year.

"The Alzheimer’s Society is a great charity and I hope we’ve done them proud again.”

Held over the weekend of June 14-15 on the open space along the seafront it was also a chance to raise money for championship’s chosen charity The Alzheimer’s Society.

Grist Environmental provides a large range of services in the waste management business. Established in 1972, the family run business operate what they term a ‘Zero to Landfill’ policy; on all of the waste and recyclable materials they collect.