OXFORD’s annual litter pick was officially launched this week ahead of the spring clean-up in neighbourhoods across the city.

More than 1,000 human Wombles are set to take to the streets to blitz “grot spots” around the city this weekend.

OxCLeam, now in its 10th year, will target areas including the verges of the A34, that are strewn with litter.

Community figureheads from across the county visited St Gregory the Great Catholic School in Cricket Road, Cowley, on Friday to speak to students before launching the cleaning crusade.

Two Oxford United youth players also joined the presentation to kick balls in to bins in front of pupils of all ages to discourage litter dropping.

Oxford Lord Mayor Rae Humberstone, from Blackbird Leys, said: “It’s important to get more people on board and get the message across to the next generation so that litter doesn’t become the problem it is now.”

He added the work OxClean does in the city was vital for the future.

At the launch, principal of St Gregory the Great, Dr Marcella McCartney, spoke to students about the importance of keeping communities clean.

She said: “At our school we have worked hard to tackle the litter problem in our grounds.

“The school had a huge litter problem. There are issues, but there are an awful lot of people in the school working hard.

“Along with OxClean we are doing Clean for the Queen, but here at St Gregory the Great we are putting a Catholic spin on it.

“We are cleaning not just for the Queen but also for the Pope.

“Dropping a bit of litter might seem like a small thing but it can have catastrophic effects and also affect people’s attitudes.”

The school has come up with the slogan “be binners not sinners.”

This year’s Oxclean event will be part of a nationwide litter pick called Clean for the Queen, which has been organised to honour Her Majesty’s 90th birthday year.

The countrywide campaign aims to bring out one million people to pick up rubbish over the weekend.

Oxclean is looking to build on the 70 groups and seven tonnes of waste cleaned off the streets last year.

MP for Oxford East, Andrew Smith, said: “It’s wonderful to be here and it’s fantastic to see the commitment of this school to cleaning up.

“It’s wonderful to see the work OxClean does. It really is making a difference.”