VOLUNTEERS lined the riverbanks in Chelmsford to take part in the autumn clean-up.

More than 100 people did their bit for the environment last Saturday.

The group of volunteers – which included children, local residents, councillors, Chelmsford Sea Cadets, Chelmsford Canoe Club, Chelmer Canal Trust and scuba divers from Orca Scuba Diving Academy – joined the council’s Neighbourhood Environmental Action Team to clear the stretch of the river from the Essex Record Office to Bunny Walk footpath.

While divers and the Sea Cadets fished items from the river, other volunteers helped clear the banks and the surrounding area.

Between them, they collected 125kg of glass, 50kg of plastic and 100kg of cans, which will all be recycled along with a full skip of scrap metal.

Enough non-recyclable materials to fill a skip was also recovered, along with a shopping trolley, two bikes, a chair, a traffic cone, a child’s car seat, carrier bags and food wrappers.

The most unusual item rescued from the depths of the river, which also gave one of the divers a bit of a fright, was the finding of the top half of a shop mannequin.

The council’s environmental team officer, Jackie Lane, said: “I would like to thank everyone who gave up their time to care for their environment.

“Each time we do this, we seem to collect less and less litter and the appearance of the river is visibly much cleaner to start with, which demonstrates the hard work of these volunteers is having a real impact on the environment, and also that people are using the waste bins provided by the council.”