The aim of the Great British Spring Clean is for communities to come together, clean up their local environment and have fun, which of course means staying safe at all times.

Members of the Ross Community Litter Clean Up Crew have already been encouraging local residents to join in the community effort and help with litter picking and town spring cleaning.

Given that UK Chief Medical Officers have now raised the coronavirus risk to the UK from moderate to high, Keep Britain Tidy have said that it’s only sensible that volunteers engaging in the Great British Spring Clean take extra hygiene precautions to prevent the spread of this, or any other, preventable illness.

Keep Britain Tidy asks that you undertake your cleanup events in line with the advice being issued by Public Health England (PHE). In particular, participants are asked to use the following guidelines:

-Wear gloves during the clean-up at all times

-Wash your hands thoroughly for 20 seconds before and after your event

-Event organisers are advised to provide hand sanitiser for participants where possible or sign post to accessible hand washing facilities

-Clean and disinfect regularly touched objects, such as litter pickers, using your regular cleaning products

-Stay at least two metres (about three steps) away from other people whenever possible