Best-selling author Bill Bryson has urged people who use the Leeds-Liverpool Canal in Bingley to help tackle problems of rubbish and graffiti in this year’s Towpath Tidy.

British Waterways staff, along with its partners and volunteers, will be aiming to make a big difference to a number of areas along the canal in the town in a day of action.

They will be litter picking, removing graffiti, cutting back towpath vegetation and minor maintenance tasks on Tuesday, March 16.

Towpath Tidy has been supported by the Campaign to Protect Rural England as part of its Stop the Drop campaign, which aims to solve litter and fly-tipping problems blighting the UK’s towns and countryside.

CPRE president Bill Bryson said: “Britain’s canals and rivers are incomparable spaces for people to enjoy.

“I urge everybody who wants to get Britain cleaned up to get involved and help tidy a towpath, pick up some litter or scrub off some graffiti.”

The effort will bring wildlife and environmental benefits to canals and rivers, as well as providing a welcome boost to the year-round work carried out by British Waterways.

Organisers hope Towpath Tidy 2010 will surpass last year’s event, which saw more than 1,700 volunteers join 635 members of British Waterways’ staff in clearing 149 tonnes of litter, painting bridges, locks, fences and graffiti covered walls and cutting back vegetation across the country.

For more information on the Bingley Towpath Tidy e-mail Matthew Taylor via matthew.taylor@britishwaterways.co.uk or call (01942) 405700. Volunteers are asked to register before the event.