VOLUNTEERS who spent their Sundays clearing Coleford car parks of mud and leaves have been praised for the impact their work has had on people’s first impressions of the town.

Members of Coleford Welcomes Walkers (CWW) set about clearing parking bays and curbs in and around the Railway Drive and Newland Street car parks at the beginning of February in a bid to spruce up the town centre.

In all, the team spent a combined 50 volunteer hours over five weekends on the project, which they completed on Sunday, March 5.

Group Chair Debbie Sturgess said: “We hope the ripple effects of our work will be long term; from chatting to local residents they state how the clean car parks make an improved first impressions of the town, they feel a sense of pride returning with people stating they’d been inspired to go home and tidy the fronts of their own properties.

“Which is what it’s all about, people taking pride in where they live and doing something about it.

“We all have an opinion on who should be doing the work but at the end of the day, people coming together to look after where they live speaks volumes.”

She added that public support for the project has been “amazing”, with one person commenting on social media: “Excellent work. Well done making the environment a little bit nicer for others.”

Another added: “Thankyou for keeping our town clean so we can carry on being proud of our town.”

The group, which is part of the national Walkers are Welcome network, aims to market Coleford as a destination for walkers, and in turn promote local independent businesses.

The volunteers regularly carry out litter picks in the area and are currently undertaking their annual audit of all the public rights of way (PROW), assisted by Gloucestershire County Council’s PROW Officer Jeff Wheeler.

Debbie says if you see them out and about wearing their CWW high vis jackets, do “stop and say hello”.

They also host regular community walks every Friday, starting at the Clock Tower at 10.30am.

Debbie explained: “We amble for about an hour then head to Cafe Sixteen for refreshments and cake, always cake!”

Those who are part of other walking groups are welcome to promote their activities via the group’s event page, www.colefordwelcomeswalkers.co.uk/events.

Anyone looking to join the team should get in touch by emailing Debbie at [email protected].