COMMUNITY-SPIRITED volunteers and youngsters proved they had enough elbow grease to make Southend High Street sparkle.

Youngsters from two Southend schools were among a team of volunteers embarking on the latest Make Southend Sparkle project which aims to encourage civic pride throughout the year.

The focus for the spring clean is to get the whole High Street, from Victoria Plaza down to the Pier, ready for the upcoming tourist season.

The Make Southend Sparkle team, along with Project 49, Chase High School, Lancaster School, Earls Hall School, Southend BID and Veolia all rolled up their sleeves for the start of the three-day project yesterday.

They want to ensure the town makes a good impression when the visitors start to pour into the town this spring.

Ann Holland, councillor responsible for culture, tourism and the economy, said: “Year on year, Make Southend Sparkle do a phenomenal amount of work to help make Southend as attractive as possible.

“With fun schemes and quirky competitions, they always offer innovative ways for residents and local schools to get cleaning.”

Mrs Holland added: “We must say a special thank you to Hollybrook, who have donated hi-viz vests for the volunteers to wear, as well as donating funds and vouchers for school equipment to the groups and schools that take part.

“We must also thank our waste contractor Veolia, who have supplied litter picking packs to the groups to assist with helping keep their own sites sparkling. Without these partners, this would not have been possible.”

Matt Badcock, headteacher of Earls Hall Primary School, said youngsters, who helped polish up the High Street’s metal benches, had thoroughly enjoyed the project. He said: “We have our Act of Kindness Club where the children put forward their names if they wish to do an act of kindness. We linked this up with the Make Southend Sparkle Campaign.

“The children loved it and so many members of the public came to talk to us, saying how lovely it was to see young people taking care of their town.”

Mr Badcock added: “It gave us the opportunity to tell the children how bad it is to drop litter. It was a great thing to use to get our message across.”

Some of the activities lined up will include a “Fag Butt Forage” and a 100m litter pick as well as cleaning stainless steel furniture.

Members of the public are invited to come and meet the Make Southend Sparkle team to find out more about the spruce up and how to register for the “Sparkle Frontage” competition.

This promotes keeping the fronts of businesses or homes clean and fresh.

Visitors can also find out about the volunteering opportunities at Make Southend Sparkle.

The Health Team was also on hand yesterday to offer support for quitting smoking.