The volunteers tackling fly-tipping for park safety

Members of a community group are cracking down on fly-tipping in their local park in Birmingham to make sure it is safe for everyone to enjoy.

The Friends of Spark Green Park, in Sparkbrook, was set up last year to clear rubbish being dropped in the area, with regular litter-picking and planting trees.

The group's vice chair Sadia Khan said the work of around 20 volunteers has made a big difference to the community that can now see a "cleaner, greener environment".

"It's a sanctuary from all of the hustle bustle busy streets, we've got a lot of potential in this park that we can use and build upon," Ms Khan said.

When the group first started, members would collect at least 10 to 12 bags of litter in one session, but that has now reduced by more than half.

Ms Khan said the work had "considerably changed" the park and made people "more conscious" in taking care of their environment.

"The park is surrounded by the shops and the markets, so people come here to enjoy food but they don't respect the area," volunteer Darakhshanda Sadia said.

By getting schoolchildren regularly involved in the events, it helps them to realise that people should not be littering, she added.

For Ms Sadia, cleaning up the park brings lots of benefits including connecting with the community and getting more exercise.

"It's not just the litter-picking in the park, we are going to other groups and participating in their activities as well so we are growing our community.

"It's fantastic that everybody is keen to get involved and we want more people to help us."

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