A PLEA has gone out to Darwen residents to look after their river following a clean-up this week.

Groundwork Blackburn and volunteers met at Shorey Bank to rid the River Darwen of junk.

Traffic cones and telephones were just some of the items found.

Senior project officer at Groundwork Fiona Hargreaves said: "Anyone who walks along the River Darwen can see for themselves why it's necessary to clean it up. We want people to be aware that they should not drop litter and think how pollution can affect the local area and wildlife. We were not only doing a practical clean-up but also raising awareness in the community.

"People just seem to find it a convenient place to dump rubbish. Two or three young people turned up to help us clear the river and they were really good and stayed all afternoon."

Groundwork is also working with local schools and trying to explain to pupils the importance of keeping rivers clean.

Fiona said things had started to improve and wildlife was starting to return, with kingfishers coming back, and there were recent reports of a brown trout being seen.

She added: "There is still a lot of work to be done. Pollution affects the river banks as well, as rubbish gets caught in the vegetation." There are also plans to improve signage around the river and to make businesses more aware of the ways they can reduce the waste that goes into the River Darwen.

The project is in partnership with the Darwen River Valley Initiative and the Environment Agency and is aimed at reducing the amount of fly tipping, general litter and waste water that goes into the River Darwen and the Blakewater.