FIFTEEN bags of rubbish were collected by police officers and cadets, members of the public and council leaders in an early spring clean-up of a York suburb.

About 25 people offered their time to pick up litter in Foxwood last Thursday, after Town Crier of York, Ben Fry, sounded the bell to begin.

A North Yorkshire Police spokeperson said: "The positive community spirit of the area was the driving force for the success of the event. The key message of “We love Foxwood” was spread across the area - loud and proud.

"As well as tidying up the area it was an opportunity for key partners and residents to meet up and openly discuss community issues and concerns."

North Yorkshire Police Commander for York and Selby, Superintendent Mark Khan said it had been a 'pleasure' to be a part of the community event and useful for him to be able to engage with members of the community and partners in person.

“Foxwood benefits from a close-knit community," he said." If we continue to work together in the way that we have today, we will achieve our aim of ironing out the low level anti-social-behaviour issues and improving the quality of life for all”.

Westfield councillor Andrew Waller said:“It’s been great to draw people together and in this instance to improve the appearance of the area. It is also good to see all the different agencies working on making the area better going forward.”