A sea of rubbish littered Peel Park after Bradford Festival's Mela.

But the team undertaking the clear-up operation promises the Undercliffe park will soon be cleaner than it was before last weekend's event.

If last year's clear up is anything to go by, the 40 workers can expect to fill up to 12,000 bin bags with rubbish left by the 130,000 people who attended the event.

In preparation for the Mela, the biggest free multi-cultural event of its kind in Europe, 120 bins of various sizes were placed in the park. But the ground is still strewn with rubbish.

Paul Cowell, festival production manager, and in charge of the mass tidy-up, said: "The weekend was fantastic but the rubbish is par for the course. I think it was far worse last year. We used to have the main stage down in the bowl so there was a slope to clear and the rubbish had to be picked up by hand. But most of it is on the flat now and we've got a sweeper to clear that which makes it much easier."

Thirty paid staff and ten people on community service are working full time picking up litter to get the park clean and have until Thursday to finish the job. There are also contractors to empty the three big skips there.

Sally Holt, aged 17, started at 10am yesterday and said: "Last year we had four days to do it and had finished by Wednesday afternoon. This year we've got a big hoover so we don't have to pick up everything by hand."

The thousands who left the rubbish have now gone but those who live nearby and use the park regularly will be glad when everything gets back to normal. Jean McMahon walks her dog in the park and said it had been noisy over the weekend.

She said: "The rubbish isn't as bad as last year and they are doing a good job. But the dog has picked something up so I'll keep her on the lead."

Betty Grzybek and Margaret Bryan also use the park to walk their dogs. Mrs Grzybek said: "They'll clear it all up and it'll be gone by Wednesday. It didn't bother us. We could hear the fair but it's only for two days and it finished early."

Mrs Bryan said: "I don't think it's as bad as last year but my dog's a scavenger that's why she's on her lead."

Mr Cowell added: "We have to leave the park in the state we found it. But it will probably be cleaner."