SPRING-cleaning has come early in Priory Heath this year after a special 'clean-up' day helped to rid the area of a range of unwanted items.Residents were given the opportunity to take their old cookers, bikes and other rubbish to a skip, which was placed in Beatty Road for the day.

SPRING-cleaning has come early in Priory Heath this year after a special 'clean-up' day helped to rid the area of a range of unwanted items.

Residents were given the opportunity to take their old cookers, bikes and other rubbish to a skip, which was placed in Beatty Road for the day.

The event, organised by Ipswich Borough Council's liveability officer, Martin Brooks, proved to be a real success, with masses of rubbish mounting up throughout the day.

Notes had previously been put through the letter boxes of nearby residents informing them that the skip would be there for the day.

People came on foot and by car to the skip, while the council's team of community caretakers and housing officers also toured the area in vans with trailers, collecting bulky items from people unable to bring them to Beatty Road.

The day was funded by 'liveability' money which the borough council successfully bid for from the government in order to help make the town a cleaner, greener and safer place.

A spokesman for the council said: "We are pleased that local residents responded positively to the call to clear out their gardens.

"In they end, they managed to fill five skips with rubbish. It goes to show that the council and residents working together get good results."