A RETIRED couple got so fed up with their dirty street they donned gloves, rolled up their sleeves and tidied it up themselves.

Harry and Jennifer Purcell voted Pendle Council the weakest link after they attended a meeting at Barnoldswick Town Hall and were told that a cleansing team could not clean up Gisburn Road because there was no money left in the budget.

Jennifer said: "They said as there was no money left, we would have to wait until April 1 but I said I'm no fool -- I told them you are the weakest link in Pendle. My husband and I like to keep this area nice and we have planted more than 5,000 bulbs, the crocus' are out now and the daffodils will soon follow."

So pensioner Harry and Jennifer, of Gisburn Road, decided to get to grips with the litter themselves.

The couple, who used to own a cooked meats shop in Barnoldswick, spent two hours cleaning up litter on Gisburn Road from Greenberfield Road to Bankshill and collected ten bags. They also removed the dog dirt and put up a notice asking dog owners to clean up after their pets.

Jennifer said: "We left the bags at the side of the road and I rang the cleansing department and asked if they could take it away -- and then a wagon came round and it was gone.

"I think the cleansing manager should put on rubber gloves and do a bit of cleaning himself." Pendle Council's principal waste management officer Brian Thompson said: "We have a duty to clean our streets and people request something then we will do it."