JUDGING by the sub-zero weather, "ice-pick" might have been a better way to describe Sunday's successful village pick, Our Pride at Stake 2013.
More than 180 volunteers, including Brentwood & Ongar MP Eric Pickles picked their way through snow-filled ditches and verges, tidying up the village.
In less than three hours they cleared the parish of Moreton, Bobbingworth and the Lavers just in time for the Easter weekend.
Volunteers assembled at Moreton Primary School and split into teams to collect litter dropped along roads around Bovinger, Bobbingworth, The Lavers, Moreton and towards Fyfield and Ongar.
Thanking helpers after the event, Bobbingworth parish councillor Colin Thompson said: "The challenge was to ask ourselves, 'Are we content to live in an environment littered with rubbish dumped by passers-by?'
"Despite the weather, people have embraced the task and reached our goals. This wasn't just about physically picking up litter, but about leaving a legacy for the future," he said.
The turnout worked out to be roughly one in every five parish residents.
Also at Our Pride at Stake were children of Moreton Primary School who used the event as an opportunity to study the environment.
A fish tank, a pool table, two steam irons, a TV, cooker, fridge and tennis balls were among the items picked up en-route.
