A group of conscientious high street stores have joined forces to clean up their town centre and make a difference in their community.

National brands in Barrow town centre have decided to hold a Big Clean event as part of their 'Healthy High Street' campaign. 

The big players at this stage are Marks & Spencer, Boots, Greggs, EE, Santander, Debenhams and McDonalds and more are expected to join them before the event on Tuesday June 7.

Rebecca Jones, clothing manager at Marks & Spencer in Dalton Road, has been organising the event for the past few months and is delighted that she has received so much support. She said: "We now have about 20 to 25 people confirmed for the high street clean and we are hoping to get that number up to 30 before the big day.

"I am really excited about the event now that everything is coming together. We have had some great support from the national companies and I think that it will encourage people to really take pride in our town."

The clean will take part at 9.30am and all members of staff will meet at the 'Spirit of Barrow' statue at the top of Portland Walk in the town centre, where litter pickers and gloves will be provided by the Evening Mail.

The Healthy High Street Big Clean will be open to individuals and smaller businesses too.

Miss Jones said: "We would love smaller businesses to join us too but I know that it is much easier for the national companies to release staff for the morning. We also welcome individual participants.

"We have had brilliant feedback from McDonald's who are sending staff to join the clean and providing refreshments after the event for all the litter pickers."

Miss Jones has been working closely with staff members at Boots and Greggs to organise the clean. Kym Bales, a trainee pharmacy assistant at Boots on Portland Walk, said: "It's amazing how much rubbish you see once somebody has drawn attention to it. We have lovely benches on Portland Walk but they are all covered in bird muck and there are cable ties on most of the lamp posts. We will be cleaning the benches and clipping off all the ties during the Big Clean.

"It is really important for national retailers to take pride in the community surrounding their shops. I think a lot of people think the responsibility for keeping the streets clean lies just with the council but I hope this encourages more people to keep Barrow town centre clean."