MORE than 250 volunteers have offered to clean up their streets following a series of 'neighbourhood blitzes' in Banbury, Kidlington and Bicester.

Residents will take part in organised litter picks as part of the 'cleaner, greener' initiative, organised by Cherwell District Council.

The campaign was aimed at boosting street cleaning and waste collection on estates at Neithrop and Hardwick in Banbury, Glory Farm in Bicester, and in all areas of Kidlington.

During the campaign, more than 76 tons of rubbish was collected, almost 300 residents had bulky items picked up from their homes, 19 unwanted cars were taken away, 70 fly-tips were cleared, more than 450 recycling boxes or bins were ordered, and more than 250 residents volunteered to take part in follow-up litter picks.

Kieron Mallon, Cherwell's executive member for the environment, said: "This has been a popular and successful campaign.

"We've spoken to more than 1,800 residents about street cleaning, waste, and recycling. We've picked up ideas from them on problem areas such as fly tipping and graffiti that we can work on, and many of them took the opportunity to clear out bulky items.

"Significantly,at least 250 people have offered to continue the clean-up exercise by joining litter picks.

"Our team at Cherwell can now build on the success of these campaigns and we're looking to start a new series next year."