A vital fundraising campaign for the Folkestone Town Sprucer team has reached half of its target with just over a fortnight to go.

The team needs to raise £4,000 so their work can continue throughout the town and across Shepway ahead of the next funding cycle, which is due in October.

If the funding target is not reached then the sprucer team will have to come off the streets and stop their work at the end of the month.

A crowdfunding campaign started earlier this month and has so far raised just over £2,300 but needs to raise the extra money by July 8.

The sprucer scheme started in 2013 and since then Pete Phillips and his team of volunteers have become popular and recognised figures around the town carrying out litter picking and oddjobs around Folkestone.

David Taylor, who helps coordinate and organise the sprucer, said: “We have launched a crowdfunding appeal for the sprucer to tie us through from the end of this month to October when the next funds are due in.”

Mr Taylor thanked supporters for their donations so far but added they need to carry on driving the campaign forward to reach the target.

The scheme has a two-pronged aim: to make the town a better place to live and support long-term unemployed build the confidence and work experience to return to full-time work.

Last year, the scheme extended wider into Shepway and included taking on jobs in New Romney and also covers areas in the Downs.

The scheme costs £22,500 a year to run and has no direct funding from either Folkestone Town Council or Shepway District Council.

The team works five days a week and collects up to 30 bags of litter every day. They also restore public footpaths, cycleways, remove graffiti, clean signs, litter bins and help with gardening and DIY for the disabled and elderly people in the community.

It is run by Sunflower House – a charity and community venture which manages the project – based in Foord Road.

The sprucer income is driven entirely by donations from the public with major support coming from the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, the Henry Smith Charity and Wilmoths Citroen, which donates the sprucer’s van.

In the last two years, 15 people who have worked on the sprucer scheme have found work.

• To donate head to the JustGiving page or alternatively visit or write to: Folkestone Town Sprucer, Sunflower House, 45 Foord Road, Folkestone, CT19 5AE.