A GROUP of volunteers which helps look after a river through Keighley is on target to hit an "unwelcome" milestone.

The River Worth Friends are staging their final litter blitz of the year this month.

And the group is on course during the event to fill its 1,000th bag of rubbish collected from the waterway in 2021 alone – double what was collected last year.

The public is being invited to go along to help out with the litter pick, on Saturday, December 18.

It will start from Woodhouse Road at 10am.

Volunteers will then make their way along The Walk, stopping at the Coney Lane bridge and Low Mills car park, to Dalton Lane.

A complimentary lunch will be provided at Wishbone Brewery at noon.

The event will also feature a short presentation from Rob Helliwell, who tracks down and identifies sources of water-borne pollution in the Bradford district.

Volunteers will be provided with litter-pickers and gloves, plus Santa hats.

All the rubbish collected will be taken away and disposed of by Bradford Council's cleansing department.

Supporters of the Friends include Keighley Big Local, which provided a £2,000 grant to set-up the group.

Shaun O'Hare, for Keighley Big Local, pays tribute to the Friends and commends their work to improve the river.

He added: "There is good access to the river at Woodhouse and a public footpath known as The Walk.

"This is a beautiful tree-lined section of the river corridor – with regular sightings of kingfishers, herons and otters.

"The River Worth Friends – who host talks, family days and a regular blog on their website – have dedicated many hours to promoting practical action along the river corridor and without doubt have contributed to the improved health of the river."

Wishbone Brewery is also a major backer of the Friends' efforts.

In 2018, director Adrian Chapman teamed-up with the group to highlight the problem of litter along the Dalton Lane and Worth Bridge Road stretch and offered the volunteer litter pickers use of the brewery's facilities.

The partnership has grown, leading to themed events at the premises including speakers, photo exhibitions and displays of dynamic river models.

In 2019, a special beer was brewed and named after the river.

"We are looking forward to welcoming the River Worth Friends on December 18 – it is a great opportunity for us to meet-up once again," said Mr Chapman.