CONCERNED residents teamed together to clean up the mess left by a group of drunken youths at a popular beauty spot.

More than 30 youngsters were spotted and caught on camera breaking lockdown rules by gathering at Stoney Bank Lake, off Stones Bank Road, near Egerton.

Images showed the extent of the mess and the damage the group caused, with bottles, cans, plastic bags and nitrous oxide canisters spread across the area.

Police were notified of the incident at around 6.30pm on Wednesday, May 20, and were sent to clear the group from the area.

A spokesman for the police said: “There was a large amount of litter left at the site and officers have notified the council about this.”

It caused anger among many local residents, with some not only angered about the disregard for lockdown rules but the mess the popular walking spot was left in.

Residents, including Shaun Hill from Astley Bridge, took it upon themselves to head to the “Blue Lake” and clean up the mess.

He posted on social media to gather a clean-up group from across the area, with great success.

Mr Hill said that his main concern was not what the youths did at their gathering but the mess they left behind.

The Bolton News:

He said: “It’s somewhere we went as kids. I’m not bothered about what they were doing, just not tidying up after themselves.

“I put it on Facebook early in the morning saying to go for around 1pm and lots of people got involved ­— I got so many messages.

“Some people took it upon themselves to go early.

“People don’t have a lot to do in lockdown and wanted to do something constructive.”

Mr Hill described how people and groups from all across the area, including North West litter pickers, Darwen litter pickers, and people from Bolton town centre had come to help clean up the popular spot.

He was even able to retrieve a bike from the lake for a young boy who’d had his bike thrown in there the day before.

Mr Hill added: “If they come back up every day, we’ll go back and clean up after them.

“There’s not a nicer spot this side of Bolton. It’s beautiful.

“The community really came together to make it spotless. It shows how much people care about the area.”