Members of a running club put their energies into a marathon litter-pick after becoming infuriated by the amount of rubbish they encountered while out training.

A group of 20 from Sittingbourne Striders collected 150 bags of rubbish from around the town at the weekend.

Organiser and chairwoman of the group, Emma Hudson-Wright, said: “I thought if we could make a slight dent in the problem it was a worthy cause.

“Striders came and picked up equipment from me which was given to use to use by the council and we went to all different parts of the town and in the countryside.

“We had five drop off points including Sonora Fields and central Sittingbourne, as well as Eden Village and near Highsted School, both in the town. There was also a drop off spot in Iwade.”

The Sittingbourne Striders running club formed in 1986, with a triathlon section added in 2013. They operate training sessions from The Appleyard Sports Pavilion in Gore Court Road, among them a 12-week programme for beginners.

Emma added: “They were all very passionate about litter and want to do it again, so I think we will make it a regular thing.

“Hopefully we have inspired some people to do the same or even stop dropping litter.”

The group came across a range of items dumped on the roads including an iron, lamps, toy dinosaur, a lunchbox with sandwiches inside, plastic bottles, cans and a large amount of McDonald’s wrappers.

“If everyone could just spend a little time a week clearing litter I’m sure we could make Sittingbourne and its surrounding villages less of an eyesore,” Emma added.

Read more: All the latest news from Sittingbourne