COMMUNITY groups are being encouraged to give Oxford a spring clean as part of an annual drive.

Oxford Civic Society’s OxClean Spring Clean returns next month in partnership with our sister newspaper The Oxford Times and groups can still sign up to take part.

OxClean can loan litter pickers, hi vis vests, sacks and boxes for those who register and Oxford City Council supplies sacks and bins and collects the filled bags from the roadside.

This year’s Spring Clean is on Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8.

Littlemore Parish Council has organised a litter pick on Saturday, March 8 starting at Littlemore Village Hall in Railway Lane.

Organiser and parish councillor David Henwood said: “OxClean is about the community pitching in, looking after and cleaning their own communities.

“It is about participation and although the city and county do a great job in taking our daily rubbish away each week, it is an opportunity for the local community to get involved, which is important.

“When you start participating in the community, you start to form the fabric of the community.”

Litterpickers in Rose Hill on Saturday, March 8 will be rewarded with a free lunch for taking part in the clean up of the estate in The Oval at 10.30am. Last year, 70 groups across the city collected 7,000kg of litter.

Rosanne Bostock, from OxClean, said: “This year we have got 75 groups and Oxford’s 36 state schools have signed up for it.

“It helps to raise awareness to get people to stop littering.

“It increases the pressure on the city council to keep Oxford clean and it raises awareness that Oxford looks better.

“We act as a pressure group to keep Oxford city cleaner and the fact that so many people show their interest - we are probably talking 2,000 people - is great.”

She added: “Our aim is to keep our city beautiful.”

OxClean began in 2006 and runs every year.

To get involved in the Rose Hill litter pick, contact Fran Gardner on 07770 324 277.

To register as a group with OxClean or to join a litter pick visit oxclean.org.uk