Undaunted by the blustery winds, over 80 student volunteers turned up to clean the streets of Jesmond on January 29th, clearing up a reported half a tonne of rubbish.

The litter pick was organised by Newcastle University Raising and Giving Society (RAG) and coordinated by committee member Keith Jewitt of Keep Jesmond Clean.

“Both [Newcastle] university and the Students Union were very keen to get involved in helping the community, putting back into the community,” Jewitt said.

Cameron Trotter, RAG co-president added: “For all of our volunteers every RAG Week, the Jesmond litter pick with Keep Jesmond Clean is always one of their favourite events.”

This is the third year RAG has organised the event, however in previous year the event attracted 200 volunteers – more than those who turned up this year.

Nonetheless, Jewitt praised the event as being “a great success”, as the cgroup still managed to cover the whole of Jesmond.

Keep Jesmond Clean help provide guidance and support to the student volunteers.

Trotter praised the group for providing the volunteers with “equipment, maps, and expert knowledge about which streets will need the most attention”.

Additionally, a recent back lane survey conducted by Keep Jesmond Clean reported nearly 60 cases to Newcastle City Council regarding broken glass, fridges, mattresses and more.

The reports were made through Envirocall, a service offered by Newcastle City Council in which residents can report damaged street litter bins to reporting flytipers.

Jewitt praised the council’s response to the reports.”They cleared up very quickly,” he said.

The next community litter pick will take place on February 22nd. Volunteers can gather from 11am at the British Legion Club.