VOLUNTEERS rolling up their sleeves and cleaning up Exmouth s nature reserve on Saturday April 25 are to be rewarded with a free cruise,

VOLUNTEERS rolling up their sleeves and cleaning up Exmouth's nature reserve on Saturday April 25 are to be rewarded with a free cruise,

The Exe Estuary Management Partnership is asking for help to clean up the Exe Estuary - a globally important site for wildlife.

The volunteers will meet up at the Imperial Recreation Ground slipway at 1pm and clean up the sand banks of the Exmouth local nature reserve and the sand dunes of Dawlish Warren national nature reserve until 3.30pm.

All volunteers will be rewarded with a free cruise courtesy of Stuart Line Cruises. The cruise will depart from Exmouth Marina at 4pm following the completion of the clean ups.

Exe Estuary Officer, Jenny Lockett, said the organisers were grateful to Exmouth Mussels, who will be helping to collect and remove the litter collected by the volunteers, as in previous years, Stuart Line Cruises for providing a free cruise for volunteers, Jurassic Coast Divers who will be leading a group of divers to clear litter from the Exmouth Pier area on Sunday morning, and the Environment Agency who is sponsoring the event.

She said: "This will be our fourth clean up in two years and hopefully our biggest and best so far.

"I really love leading the events and seeing everybody come together to improve the estuary.

"It only takes a couple of hours to make a massive difference and it is a great chance to meet new friends, catch up with other volunteers met at previous events and do your bit for the estuary."

Councillor Margaret Rogers, chair of the Exe Estuary management partnership and executive member for the environment for Devon County Council, said: "The Exe Estuary clean ups are an excellent opportunity for the local community of the estuary to get together and work to improve the environment and safety of the estuary.

"It makes a valuable contribution to managing the estuary and gives people both responsibility and ownership of this rare environment.