Enthusiastic volunteers turned out in force to mount a clean up of the area close to the Cyprus DLR station.

It took 18 people just two hours to fill 26 large bags with discarded cigarette butts, beer cans and empty packets of crisps.

And they also picked up some rather unusual discarded objects, including part of a bus stop, parts from a washing machine, two shopping trolleys, and a tarpaulin that had been stuck in a bush.

The event, on February 15, was one of a series supported by the charity CleanupUK, which is dedicated to tackling litter problems by encouraging people to get together and organise litter picks.

Project co-ordinator Emma Harrington said it was about residents restoring pride in their area while forging a sense of community.

She said: “The point of this is about involving residents in looking after where they live.

“Cyprus was suggested to us by a volunteer from Clean-Up as an area that we could clear up.

“We were delighted with the number of people who showed up, there were children there, so they helped us as well.”

CleanupUK has also spoken to the council with a view to increasing the number of bins close to the station to prevent litter build-up.

The charity’s Beautiful Boroughs project, focused on London’s Olympic boroughs, has so far managed to organise more than 30 cleanups involving 500 volunteers.