Alnwick man goes the extra mile in his spare time and cleans the town's gum-riddled streets

In his spare time Andrew Carr, owner of ABC Cleaning Services, has been taking his pressure washer and cleaning equipment into the centre of Alnwick to try and make the town a lot cleaner and brighter for residents and visitors.

He only started his mission last Sunday, but has already cleaned a large section of the centre, including the Market Place and parts of the high street.

The idea came to Andrew, who is from Alnwick, while he was at work cleaning windows and gutters at a pub and noticed the pavements outside were dirty.

He said: “I started on Sunday and my goal is to get rid of all the chewing gum and dirt from the streets. I’m going to do the whole town.

"I did a job outside a pub in Alnwick and I just thought ‘I’m gonna do that pavement’. Everyone complains about all the dog mess and the chewing gum, so I thought I’ll give back and clean this up.

"I also want to do the bus station because everyone complains about the mess on Facebook so I’ve contacted Arriva and they’ve given me permission to clean that up too.

"It is looking a lot better. I want to get it all nice and clean.”

To carry out his mission to get to town clean, Andrew contacted Alnwick Town Council which was thrilled to hear about what he was doing in his spare time, and gave him the green light.

Andrew is doing this work for free, however the town council has agreed to pay for the fuel required to carry out the job.

Cllr Gordon Castle said: “ABC Cleaning came to me offering this service to the town and after clearing it through the town and county council we are delighted to accept his generous offer.

"The work clearing chewing gum is very time consuming but the results are a revelation.

"On behalf of the town, I thank him for his public-spirited work.”