Braintree Council have pledged to support the country's biggest mass-action environmental campaign.

Braintree Council is encouraging and supporting groups and individuals who take part in this year's Great British Spring Clean, starting March 20.

The campaign, run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, will see up to 600,000 people taking action to clean up streets, parks and beaches across the country.

Last year, more than half a million #LitterHeroes collected more than 900,000 bags of rubbish.

Cllr Wendy Schmitt, said: "We have fantastic Green Heart Champion volunteers who help keep our district as clean as possible from litter, and we saw some great results from the Great British Spring Clean last year thanks to our communities and residents.

"We will be doing our bit by sweeping and litter-picking the verges overnight on the A120, a 15 mile round-trip and stretches from Marks Farm to Felsted.

"We'll also be displaying some new anti-litter signage on a number roads in the district to discourage people from littering, reminding them to keep their rubbish in their vehicles."

The council will also help provide litter picking equipment and arrange to collect bags of any rubbish collected by volunteers.

Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, said: "We are delighted that Braintree Council is supporting this year's campaign and would like to thank them for their support.

"Without councils across the country giving the campaign their backing, our volunteers would not be able to do the incredible job they do.

"The overwhelming response to last year's campaign showed that there are many hundreds of thousands of people out there who love where their live and are prepared to take action to make it better for themselves, their families and their communities."

The Great British Spring Clean runs from March 20 to April 13, to find out more go to keepbritaintidy.org.