Parish councillor uses daily exercise to make his area spick and span in Milton Keynes

David Stabler from Great Linford Parish Council (GLPC) noticed some of the street signs were grey with dirt while taking his daily walks around the parish.

He decided to do something about it - and now residents are getting out their cleaning cloths to follow his example.

David said: “Ordinarily The Parish Rangers would clean the signs during their work schedule, but they are busy helping with other community activities during these difficult times.

“The dirty signs didn't promote a good image for the area, so I decided to give them a clean on my next session of exercise. It took less than 10 minutes to clean both sides!”

“I thought it would make a good community challenge and used Facebook to ask others to get involved too. It's an opportunity to take on a simple task while the lockdown continues and anyone can do it."

The Facebook challenge struck a chord with other residents who also decided to get busy cleaning. Individuals and families stepped up with soap and elbow grease, and now signs across the estate are bright and white again.

“Taking your exercise time during lockdown is essential for a healthy mind and body. If you can scrub up a little part of the neighbourhood at the same time, you'll get an added sense of achievement,” said David.

He hopes that when the lockdown eases, the cleaning will continue.

“The response has been magnificent and we now have all ages taking part; from small children to grandparents,” he said, “It is wonderful to have the youngsters involved – hopefully they will grow up caring for their community spaces too. What a great legacy that will be," he said,

“Sign cleaning is a small task, but makes a big difference – when people see things being cared for, it encourages them to take pride in the area too, which fits perfectly with the Great Linford Parish Council motto; Great Locality Proud Community."