KEEP Scotland Beautiful declared a litter emergency last year.

And two volunteer litter pickers in a Borders town are doing their bit to improve the environment.

Murray Charters and Denis Robson hatched their plan in a bar to give Innerleithen a litter makeover, ordered hi-viz tops and the KIT (Keep Inners Tidy) clean-up crew was created.

On Wednesday, January 3, the pair patrolled the streets, complete with litter pickers and collected more than 30 kilograms of rubbish.

Their scheme coincides with Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Spring Clean campaign and people in Innerleithen are asked for suggestions of areas needing special attention.

Mr Charters said: “Denis and I decided to do it over a pint one day.

“I bought the high-viz and litter pickers and we just gave it a go.

“We have a couple of other mates wanting to join in so hopefully we can spread the word and keep the town tidy.

“Clean-up walks will take place weekly, preferably Wednesday mornings, weather dependent.”

A Keep Scotland Beautiful spokesperson said: “We declared a litter emergency in 2022 based on the evidence we collected from our surveys and audits and from public perceptions.

“Our two latest reports ‘How clean are our streets?’ and the ‘Scottish Litter Survey,’ published in November 2023, continue to evidence the challenge.

“Our flagship annual Spring Clean challenge sees tens of thousands of people across the country roll up their sleeves to remove litter from their neighbourhoods.

“Tackling litter will lead to important, positive impacts on efforts to combat climate change and halt biodiversity loss.”