VOLUNTEERS at a Newport litter group have continued their tireless work to clean up the city, clearing 500 bags of rubbish from the banks of the River Usk.

Pride in Pill had to pause their litter-busting during the national lockdown at the start of the Covid-19 public health crisis, but in recent months have made up for lost time by tackling nearly one mile of riverbank near the city centre.

The group had already cleared Monkey Island, near the SDR bridge, earlier in the summer, and in recent weeks a team of eight volunteers has continued that work near the Transporter Bridge.

Pride in Pill usually deals with fly-tipping and street litter, but this project took on waste from a different source - the debris that floats upriver at high tide and then gets left behind on the Usk's banks.

What they found ranged from everyday litter, such as bottles and cans, to tyres and industrial containers.

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Group chairman Paul Murphy thanked the other volunteers who had taken part in the clean-up, as well as the Newport City Council workers who took away the rubbish the group had collected and bagged.

"It's nice of people to come along and give up their time to volunteer – especially with the lockdown," he said.

The group has been taking extra safety precautions against Covid-19, Mr Murphy said, with volunteers social distancing and wearing masks.

The next target in Pride in Pill's crosshairs is at the old Sainsbury's site, in Wyndham Street.

The group will hold a clean-up in the area this Saturday at 10am, and Mr Murphy said volunteers were welcome to join for as long as they wanted.

There will be face masks and hand sanitiser available, but volunteers are asked to work alone or with members of their household, and the sharing of equipment is not permitted.

For more information, contact Pride in Pill at www.facebook.com/pamurpaol