It has become a magnet for drug dealers, prostitutes and anti-social behaviour but a team of human wombles have descended on a park in Rosary Road, Norwich, to help clean up its image.
Patrols have been stepped up in the area as part of an ongoing crackdown on drugs and prostitution but it was the public not the police who were out in force at Old Library Wood, off Rosary Road, for a community-led litter pick.
More than 20 people, including a number of children, turned out for the event organised by the newly-formed Old Library Wood Collective as part of a bid to create some better news for the area following some 'bad press'.
Adam Murray, chairman of the group who brought along a Wombles costume to the event, said: 'If you put Rosary Road into Google there's a lot of negative stuff that comes up.
'We actually wanted to do something that was positive and a positive thing in the neighbourhood.'
Mr Murray, who described Old Library Wood as being like a gateway to Thorpe Hamlet, said he was 'chuffed' by the amount of people who had attended the event on Saturday.
He said: 'For our first ever event it was amazing we had this many people. I'm really chuffed that we had this many people turn up.'
Mr Murray's wife, Abi, also attended the event with their two children Georgia, three, and Elliot, six. She added: 'We just wanted something that would bring the community together and have some nice news about the area.
'There's not much we can do about the drugs and prostitution but we can make it a nicer place to be.' People living in the area filled plastic bin bags with rubbish found in the park and nearby roads and put flags near to any hazardous items, like needles or sharps, so they could be safely collected by council contractors.
Peter Burton, 79, from Rosary Road, was one of those who helped in the clear up. He said: 'We look out and see what's going on most nights. It deserves to be made into a better place for everyone.'
Maureen Wicklund, who walked through Old Library Wood during the clean-up, said it was 'nice to see so many people' in the park.
Log onto www.oldlibrarywood.org/ for more information about the group.
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