Spiritual street cleaners came equipped with brooms to sweep up the roads and encourage others to follow suit.

Members of Ilford’s Dera Sacha Sauda – an international spiritual movement from India – took part in its cleanliness campaign to keep the streets of Ilford spick and span.

The group, which collected more than 600 rubbish bags, wants the borough’s residents to stop relying on the council to keep the streets clean.

Clean up organiser Ankur Jain, 30, of Ilford, said: “If you look at our streets, there’s so much dirt around - we should do more to look after our environment.

“We shouldn’t have to rely on other people to clean up our streets because the council can only do so much.”

More than 60 volunteers swept and weeded pavements in more than 25 streets around Albert Road, Ilford.

Ankur added: “I believe that we are guests of Earth and as a guests we should treat it with respect.”

Call 077 3749 2228 for more information on the group.

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