Residents in Calne are urging people to join them in clearing the green lung of the town centre.

At the end of last year, the environmental theme group of the Calne Community Area Partnership was awarded nearly £1,000 towards a community clean-up day.

Now, a group of residents living near to the waterway have set up the Friends of Abberd Brook to ensure progress is made.

Vice chairman Frank Rumble, of Brook Way, said the group that formed on the back of the Calne Area Board meetings is hoping to expand in the coming months. “There are about nine of us that have got together because we are keen to see the brook returned to its former glory,” he said.

“At the moment it is littered with all sorts of bits and pieces like shopping trolleys and rubbish so we would like anyone in Wiltshire to come down and join us on the community clean up day.

“The objective is to promote this green lung of Calne and we would welcome any help.

“There has always been an idea of what needs to be done and we are going to take this on and develop it from the proposal stage to a full blown scheme by getting more and more people involved.

“We are just residents who want to get our waterway back to how it once was and ensure it can be somewhere the children can go to do minnow fishing and play safely.”

Anyone interested in joining the group should attend a meeting on Tuesday at the Calne Community Centre.

The community clean-up and litter-pick day will take place on March 27 at 10am. Anyone wishing to take part should meet at the community centre.