People across Devon are being called on to do their bit to ensure that the county remains one of the most beautiful in England by joining Keep Britain Tidy's Great British Spring Clean.

Taking part is easy; you can join the #BigBagChallenge and make a pledge to pick up and bag as much litter as you can from March 17 to April 2.

 You can pledge as an individual, a group or a school and help to beat last year's national pledge to collect nearly half a million bags of rubbish.  

Now into its eighth year, the Great British Spring Clean is the nation's biggest mass-action environmental campaign with millions of bags of litter already cleared by volunteers.

Litter is an avoidable problem and, according to Keep Britain Tidy, is responsible for the deaths of almost three million small animals trapped in littered bottles and cans along our highways.

Litter can also block drainage channels leading to flooding and can injure livestock. 

To support this event, Devon's local authorities have over 500 litter pickers and other equipment available to borrow all year round.

If you need support, want to ensure your litter pick runs smoothly, and need to know what to do with the litter collected, visit Clean Devon, or contact your local council directly. 

However you want to pick – on your own or part of a group – you will be joining thousands of volunteers throughout the UK who routinely pick up litter when out and about to improve their local environment.

Research reveals that more than 8.5 million adults in the UK have litter picked at least once in the past six months. 

Clean Devon supports local action in the fight against litter to improve the spaces we love and to protect wildlife and the environment.

It's a partnership of 28 organisations, which includes local authorities, the Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission, Devon and Cornwall Police, and the National Farmers Union, who are all working together to tackle litter and fly tipping across Devon. 

Councillor Roger Croad, is the chair of the Devon Authorities Strategic Waste Committee, which represents Devon County Council, the county's district authorities and Torbay Council, who are all members of Clean Devon.

He said: "Devon's local authorities and government agencies spend millions of pounds each year keeping our streets, parks, verges, beaches and countryside clean - but litter is still a problem.

"Litter-picking is a simple action that can make an immediate and visible difference to our community.

"More than 85 per cent of those who took part in last year's Great British Spring Clean reported that taking part made them feel a sense of pride in their local area, and 74 per cent said it improved their mood too.

"Leaving somewhere cleaner than you found it is very rewarding - picking up litter makes you feel good.

"It also can help as a deterrent – it shows litterers that people do care and encourages others to join in.

"I believe that if we all work together litter could be a thing of the past."

To find out more, visit Clean Devon.