A TOWN is reviving tried and tested methods to keep the streets clean.

Street sweepers pushing brooms and hand barrows are making a comeback in Middlesbrough.

Two hand barrows have been bought to help workers keep the streets of North Ormesby cleaner - to the delight of the local community.

Ray Brown, waste services area manager with Middlesbrough Council, said: "These carts are particularly useful in streets where there are lots of parked cars and they are also able get into nooks and crannies that conventional machines can't reach.'

Bob Kerr, executive council member for Streetscene services, said: "Residents who attend the local community council are already expressing positive remarks about the cleanliness of the streets in North Ormesby, which is good to hear.

"Sometimes the more traditional methods of cleansing can prove to be the most effective in dealing with individual situations, such as North Ormesby.

"I am also pleased to be able to say that as a whole the cleanliness of the streets of Middlesbrough is improving.''

While Middlesbrough Council has six mechanical sweepers on order, each costing between £60,000 and £80,000, a spokesman said more hand barrows could be introduced across the borough.

"It's what works is the important thing," said the spokesman.

"There are different parts of the town requiring different solutions.''

He said the re-introduction of hand carts in North Ormesby was a direct result of a reorganisation of street cleansing teams to look after four distinct areas of the borough.

The council spokesman said: "They know their areas well and the ins and outs of each. What can work there, can work elsewhere.

"There is absolutely no reason why hand barrows cannot be used in other parts of the town.''

The return of the barrow at North Ormesby, coincides with the findings of a council scrutiny panel that revealed certain mechanical sweepers were too wide to sweep back lanes fitted with alley gates.

It also said blowing machines used to remove litter from underneath parked cars could lead to compensation claims from owners alleging damage to their vehicles.

The panel was not convinced that the increase in mechanical means was always the most effective or economical.

It said: "Additionally, the provisional of manual sweeping can access awkward locations and provide good exposure to the public of a cleansing service.''