TROWBRIDGE mayor Linda Self spent Sunday morning tidying the town's streets in preparation for her first civic service.

Along with six helpers, including Nick Blackwell, Cllr Self said she was ‘ashamed’ of the way the streets had been cleaned recently and thought they should look spick and span for the town procession.

“It doesn’t look good if you bring these mayors and MPs to Trowbridge, which is the county town of Wiltshire, and it looks horrible with rubbish,” she said. “I was very ashamed and wanted to do something about it.

“It took Trish Carpenter, the council secretary, and I two hours to sweep up down Park Lane near the Albany. It was so dirty and full of litter so it definitely needed a tidy up.

“After we finished, it looked good.

“Quite a few people came up to us on Sunday morning and said how lovely it was to see people cleaning up the streets. We take real pride in our town.”

Philip Whitehead, cabinet member for highways at Wiltshire Council, which is responsible for cleaning the streets, said: “We are always grateful when communities come together to tackle the issue. We would encourage community groups, businesses or residents to get in touch and we will assist wherever we can.

“We simply cannot afford to keep clearing up after people who have no respect for their local community.”

During the reception at the Civic Centre, Cllr Self, 64 was also able to show visiting mayors and dignitaries the work of her chosen charities: Alzheimer’s Support and Breakthrough Trowbridge, and in the process managed to raise £536.32.

She added: “The reception was a great opportunity to get the message out there about the work of my chosen charities and for people to ask what they do in the community.

“The charities got together and said a few words at the reception and we had a good collection for them looking at the amount in the box. It was a great opportunity for them to raise money.

“It was a very good occasion and the service and reception went down very well.

“I’ve had a couple of emails from different mayors and they thanked me very much as they really enjoyed themselves.”

A service was held at St James’ Church after a procession was led from the Civic Centre by town crier Trevor Heeks.