TWO litter pickers put messy residents to shame by pulling on rubber gloves to clean up their community.

Kylie Legate, ten, and her friend Kaitlin Allen, nine, decided to take a stand against rubbish littering North Avenue, Canvey, where they both live.

While most youngsters enjoyed their school holidays, Kylie and Kaitlin armed themselves with bin bags and set to work.

Kylie said: "Kaitlin and I were bored, and we had an idea to clean up the street because it was really messy. It is always really messy.

"People just dump rubbish everywhere."

The girls collected a bag of rubbish each and cleared the street, before turning their attention to Kylie's grandmother's garden, where rubbish blows in off the street.

Proud grandmother Jean Legate, who also lives in North Avenue, said: "They did it all off their own backs.

"I had been out for the afternoon and was really surprised when I came down the road to see them picking up rubbish.

"It was quite amusing at the time, but at least they did something with their spare time.

"The girls are planning to go out again before they go back to school."

Ray Howard, Castle Point councillor responsible for waste and the environment, said: "North Avenue often gets strewn with takeaway cartons and drinks cans by revellers walking home from a night out.

"The council sends a street cleaner down the road, but the wind often whips it up.

"I am full of praise for anyone that does that sort of thing, and thank them for their initiative.

"We do our best as a council to pick up litter, but unfortunately there are some people who still drop rubbish - especially from takeaways."