A Stoke-on-Trent shopping centre is rallying local residents and businesses to help clean up their town.

'Longton's Big Spring Clean' is a two-week project to clear litter and tidy up the town, run by the Longton Exchange Shopping Centre.

The clean-up began on Friday 13 March and will run until Sunday 29 March with volunteers joining members of staff at the Longton Exchange to litter pick around the town from 10am until 1pm every day.

It is part of the national Great British Spring Clean, a UK-wide initiative that encourages communities to take pride in their local areas and care for the places that matter to them.

Chris, a member of the team at the Longton Exchange, said: "Ultimately it's about trying to have some pride in our town centre."

He added: "We wanted to try and get businesses and members of the public involved to take pride in where they come from and keep Longton looking as good as we can."

So far, the team and volunteers have helped clear litter from The Strand and Market Street as well as removing litter and overgrowth from the car park behind the Longton Exchange.

The clean-up will run until Sunday 29 March (image via Nub News)

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The project follows the announcement that Longton is bidding to become the UKs first 'Town of Culture'.

The team at the Longton Exchange hopes their efforts will support the bid, led by local organisation Urban Wilderness CIC.

Chris praised the progress made in Longton over the past few years and explained why he believed Longton should be named the UK Town of Culture.

He said: "I saw lot of potential in Longton, and I think a lot of work has been done over the last four years, not just by the Exchange, but others like Urban Wilderness as well.

"There are lots of positive things happening in Longton and we need to start shouting about the positives in this town."

Some of the volunteers who took part in the Spring Clean on Tuesday 17 March explained why they were supporting the project.

Volunteer Sarah said: "It makes us feel good. We know that we've done it, so it's uplifting for us in a sense.

"We know that we've contributed to our little town."

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Addressing negativity that people express about Longton, Sarah said: "None of the good gets shouted about.

"People are quick enough to shout about the bad stuff, but when we do something good it goes over a lot of people's heads."

Another volunteer, Cassandra, added: "There's loads of stuff going behind the scenes in Longton that people don't see."

To take part in 'Longton's Big Spring Clean', head to the Longton Exchange Management Office at 9:45am on one of the days.

The Longton Exchange will provide litter pickers, bin bags and bin rings, hi-vis vests and gloves as well as tea and coffee as a thank you at the end.