Residents who are not afraid of getting their hands dirty have had their clean-up efforts officially recognised.
Members of the Evington Road Neighbourhood Association (Erna) are the latest recipients of the Honoured Citizen Award.
The honour was presented at Leicester Town Hall yesterday by Lord Mayor Councillor Abdul Osman to mark their work in improving their environment and getting across the message about keeping the neighbourhood tidy.
The association was formed to tackle the increasing piles of rubbish, including items of furniture, accumulating in their streets. They were responsible for removing more than eight tonnes of waste or unwanted items in three clean-up sessions last year.
Membership secretary Cynthia Mackay said: "In Devana Road it was incredible what was left on the street – settees, chairs, tables, beds. You could have set up home outside with all the furniture."
Helped by a £1,250 grant from the city council's Stoneygate ward community budget, the association organised the clean-up sessions and told people of the means available for them to get rid of rubbish.
Vice-chairman Helen Everett said: "One property had a very dangerous side wall in a state of collapse. The tenant could not let her children play in the yard because of the risk of them being injured or even killed."
Through Erna's intervention, the problem was sorted out and the wall made safe.
Stoneygate ward councillor Lucy Chaplin, who nominated the group for the award, said: "These clean-up days were an excellent example of residents working together with their city wardens to make a real difference to their neighbourhood."
