A Hartlepool housing provider worked alongside the council and local community to clean up a town area.

A week of action took place in De Bruce ward as part of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Pride in Place initiative.

Home Group helped council workers and residents tackle key issues including fly-tipping and overgrown weeds.

Housing managers also provided information to customers to support the removal of waste from customers’ gardens.

De Bruce councillor Rachel Creevy (left) joins community representatives during the Pride In Place week of action.

placeholder image — De Bruce councillor Rachel Creevy (left) joins community representatives during the Pride In Place week of action.

Starting last Monday with a leaflet drop and customer engagement, it provided an opportunity for residents to share issues impacting them and their families.

This was then followed up with a large-scale estate inspection, identifying much-needed improvements and interventions.

A drop-in session was also arranged to hear directly from local people what matters most to them and De Bruce ward Councillor Rachel Creevy assisted the team each day.

Local firm Batson Groundcare helped haul fly-tipped rubbish away.

A community litter pick involving staff and pupils from St Hild's Church of England School also took place.

Sharon Bowman, housing manager at Home Group said: “I’m really proud of everything we were able to carry out in the De Bruce area last week.

“I can’t thank people enough to getting involved and helping out. From Cllr Creevy giving up her time to assist us each day to Batson for delivering at short notice, it was a real community effort.

“It can seem like small things individually, picking up litter or sitting down with customers for a chat, but we know these can make the biggest difference when you put it all together.”