YOUNG environmentalists have been rewarded for their efforts to clean up their local community.

Pupils from Glendene School and Community Arts College, Peterlee were among dozens of volunteers from community and voluntary groups across East Durham to pledge to carry out a litter pick as part of the Pride in Easington Big Clean 2009.

The youngsters, who targeted a piece of waste ground near the school, managed to collect a dozen bags of litter in just one hour.

And as a reward for their dedication, the group were chosen to receive £100 in cash to spend on a school project.

Clare Hubbard, Pride in Easington officer, said: "By asking people to pledge a litter pick we were giving them the opportunity to show their commitment to making our area a cleaner, greener and safer place to live.

"We had an excellent response from the public but we felt the young people from Glendene deserved particular recognition as although just a small group of them took part in the litter pick they managed to collect a great deal of rubbish in just a short amount of time."

This year’s Pride in Easington Big Clean saw community volunteers collecting more than 200 bags of litter and council clean and green teams devoting more than 400 man-hours to cleaning up litter and rubbish hotspots.