A GRANDMOTHER from Rawtenstall will be advising the government on how to keep the nation’s streets free of litter.

Camden Blomerley, secretary of Rossendale Civic Pride, has been asked to write a piece for inclusion in a paper to be presented to a cross-party parliamentary committee on litter and its affects on society.

It follows a highly successful year for the group, whose Rawtenstall faction were presented with six Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom awards for making the town cleaner and greener.

Mrs Blomerley also briefly appeared on BBC One’s current affairs programme Panorama: Our Dirty Nation on Monday night, presented by Labour peer Joan Bakewell.

The footage showed Mrs Blomerley appearing on a panel alongside Mrs Bakewell at the annual Keep Britain Tidy conference in London last week.

Mrs Blomerley said she will be using the opportunity to address the parliamentary committee to encourage government and business to take up working with volunteer groups to keep the streets clean.

She said: “Rossendale Council recently realised that often, we volunteers know better than they do, where the problem areas are and how to fix them.

“For instance, they brought us on board to plan what changes should be made after United Utilities have carried out some work in Rawtenstall town centre early next year.

“If an area is covered in litter, it brings the area down.”