A TOTAL of 26 tonnes of waste was removed from the south side of Banbury as part of a clean-up, the council has revealed.

On the week beginning Monday, February 20, staff from Cherwell District Council battled litter, flytips and graffiti in Calthorpe and Easington.

They collected waste equivalent to the weight of two double decker buses while environmental enforcement officers took on a large flytip in Wykham Place.

Overall 2.86 tonnes of rubbish was collected by hand, 21.2 tonnes were tackled by the mechanical sweepers and 2.18 tonnes collected through the free bulky waste collection service offered to residents in the area.

Debbie Pickford, Cherwell's lead member for clean and green, said: "Our street cleansing teams do a great job all year round keeping the district looking clean.

"The amount of rubbish removed this time around is truly impressive.

"For this blitz, our clean and green team were also talking to residents to remind them that if they haven’t yet got a blue recycling bin, they are entitled to one for free.

"People with an old blue box are entitled to an upgrade and can contact customer services to arrange this."

For more information on how to report litter, flytips and other problems visit cherwell.gov.uk/blitz