Volunteers rolled up their sleeves to clean up an area near the Railway Trail in Warwick that had become a target for illegal dumping.

Chaplain Kevin Santucci, one of the organisers, said: “We had about 40 people there and what an experience it was for us all.

“I am so happy that we had support from the Bermuda Police Service, support from former Royal Bermuda Regiment soldiers, we had support from the QBE Foundation and from Nelson Hunt, Keith Swan, who provided a tractor, and Wilmot Trucking.

“We had some people from Parks, who gave their time freely. We had Keep Bermuda Beautiful and the Red Cross, and we had some of our politicians like Neville Tyrrell and Douglas DeCouto.”

Mr Santucci added that they even received assistance from overseas with a visitor from New Jersey volunteering to help.

“She called me to ask if she can help with the clean up, and I am so happy to report that she came with another lady, who is from New York City, and they stayed with us until we finished,” Mr Santucci said.

“There was another lady from Australia who was so happy to help with the clean-up she stayed until the end.”

He added that residents not only joined the effort, but offered the volunteers soup, sandwiches and drinks to help them as they tackled the mess.

“It really was an old-fashioned Bermuda clean up,” Mr Santucci added. “We are so thankful for the organisations and everyone that was a part of the clean-up.”

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Mr Santucci said that the clean-up on Sunday was the “first phase” of the project, with volunteers urged to return to the site between 9am and noon on February 12 to finish the work.

“There was quite a bit of stuff that had accumulated. You can see that the trucks have been dumping stuff,” he said.

“We want to make sure we get the last of it before finishing up.”