A clean-up that took place this morning was deemed a success by residents of the area.

More than 30 volunteers spent up to six hours tidying up the Southampton neighbourhood after resident Lee Tucker earned the support of Keep Bermuda Beautiful and private sector stakeholders.

Mr Tucker said he had attempted to clear out Horsehoe Road area when he soon realised he’d “bitten of more than he could chew”.

He told The Royal Gazette: “I didn’t realise so much work was involved and how much was hidden away in the grass.

“I found everything from diapers to dentures,” he said, adding “These types of things do not deteriorate, they’re going to hang around.”

He said the waste was mostly beer bottles. The team filled more than a dozen trash bags with bottles today, after filling 15 a few weeks previous.

“Trash breeds trash,” he said, remarking on how careless passers-by can be. “Before long you’ve got a whole open area filled with beer bottles and cans and all the rest of it. Good and bad behaviours attract similar and “he hopes that these efforts will encourage other areas to tidy up as well.”

He also underlined the potential health issues discarded waste poses, particularly in the form of rodents and disease carrying mosquitoes. “Bottles can collect water and stagnant water means mosquitoes. If we’d waited for the summer to come in, mosquitoes would have been all over the place.”

He said: “I’m thankful to the rest of the folks that came out. It was something that had to be done.

It was a sacrifice, but I think it was well worth it. It wasn’t a spectator sport.”

Today’s effort was the start of a three-part programme designed by the Bermuda Tourism Authority to support neighbourhoods that want to clean up their public roadways.

The initiative is supported by Keep Bermuda Beautiful, Almeida’s Landscaping & Estate Maintenance, The Bermuda Landscaping Association and Butterfield & Vallis.