Four community-minded volunteers who give up their own time to help keep the streets of Falmouth clean, have been rewarded for their efforts by the town's mayor, Grenville Chappel.

Mick Derrick, Steve Burrows, John Rees and Clive Mathison were all invited along to the council chamber to enjoy afternoon tea with the mayor and his wife, June, and were then presented with town plaques in recognition of their selfless work.

Between them they tackle large areas of the town in a bid to keep litter down and even uproot weeds and paint seats. Mr Derrick can often be seen out and about around the Longfield estate, Mr Burrows clears litter on his way to work, from Swanpool up to Falmouth Golf Club; Mr Rees takes on Dracaena Avenue, and Mr Mathison, along with Michael Walton, who was unable to attend the reception, focus on the area around Pikes Hill and Wodehouse Terrace.

Mr Chappel said: “Falmouth is a wonderful town, but one of the ongoing problems is keeping the whole town clean and tidy. These volunteers go out of their way to ensure their part of the town is kept tidy and litter free and I am pleased to be able to recognise the work they do.

"I want to see Falmouth cleaned up and if we all picked up outside our own houses, and helped a neighbour if they are not able to do it, that would cut down on the litter. To keep Falmouth clean we have to do it ourselves and the people here today are going out and doing something.

"We have lots of people who volunteer for lots of things - we are great in Falmouth for that, but this is one area where it is not so good. We (the town council) are doing everything we can to clean up Falmouth but the message to the people of Falmouth is 'how about cleaning it up yourselves like these great people have done.'"

The town council has bought 11,000 seagull proof sacks which will be free to residents who have not already received one. It is hoped that when they are distributed next month (September) they will cut down on the amount of rubbish, much of which is currently dragged from unprotected bin bags.