Five young campaigners have become so fed-up with the fly-tipping and littering in their street they have planned a community effort to clear it up.

Danielle Farndale, 11, and four of her friends have launched a campaign to tidy up Cheltenham Road in Wrose.

The youngsters, aged between ten and 14, have set up Cheltenham Youth Association (CYA) to organise the tidy up.

They also hope to turn a piece of disused land at the end of Cheltenham Road into a space for children's activities.

Councillors have backed their campaign and say the clean-up is just one of many of the improvements the CYA have planned over the next few months.

Hanson School pupil Danielle, of Cheltenham Road, said: "We wanted to do it because we are fed up of our street looking a mess all the time.

"There is rubbish everywhere and there is only one bin that never gets rubbish put in it, so we wanted to do something.

"We have planned a community clean-up which will be happening in early 2008."

The team is Danielle, sisters Gabrielle, 12, and Brittany Reinbergs, ten, Jade Outram, ten, and Heather Shackleton, 14, who all live in Cheltenham Road. Danielle said there had been a lot of support for their campaign but they plan to send out Christmas cards to raise its profile.

"People have been saying they are glad we are doing this," she said.

Danielle's mum, Mairead, 33, said she had come up with the idea after listening to residents' concerns at a party.

She told her daughter who, with her friends, set the ball rolling and have planned monthly meetings to discuss ideas to improve their community.

Mrs Farndale said: "It is brave of them to take on something like this. It is quite easy for them to let the adults organise this kind of thing but to do it for themselves shows a lot of determination.

"It would not have been set up without the help and encouragement of Councillors Phil Thornton and Vanda Greenwood and we would like to extend our thanks to both of them."

Coun Thornton said he would work with the CYA group to decide how to spend part of the council's budget for trees and waste bins in the area.

He said that the youngsters will be fully consulted on what improvements they want to see happening in Cheltenham Road.