RESIDENTS in Kidlington carried out their own clean-up of the village in preparation for the Queen's 90th birthday later this month.

On Saturday the group headed out armed with litter pickers and bin bags to give the area around the Oxford Canal a spruce up.

They spent two hours collecting litter, during which time they found 10 discarded bin bags, a wheelie bin and a dumped child's buggy.

Organiser Neil Prestidge said: "The Queen's birthday was a good reason for us to do something in the village, and people are able to get behind it and get involved.

"It also makes the place look really nice for local people."

Mr Prestidge added he was hoping to turn the clean-up into a more regular event, with meet-ups taking place every six months.

The clean-up follows in the footsteps of national initiative Clean for the Queen, which encouraged people to get out and tidy up their local community ahead of the big day.

The Queen, who is now the longest-serving British monarch in history, will turn 90 on April 21.

Last month Cherwell District Council announced that they are offering grants of up to £500 for people looking to hold community events to mark the occasion.