A RUNNING club is hoping to clean up the streets while exercising as they take part in 'plogging' - the latest trend to sweep the UK from Scandinavia.

Members of Didcot Runners turned out in force on Tuesday night to enjoy the activity which involves picking up litter while on the move.

The runners set out from their base at Didcot Football club and followed a number of routes across the town.

Combining 'picking' and 'jogging' - hence 'plogging' - the craze has spread on social media with community-concious joggers hitting the streets with running gear, a bag for litter, and a pair of gloves.

Sharing their pictures of litter collected online, the activity has spread to different countries and there is now dedicated communities for ploggers in places including Paris and Thailand.

A representative from the club, Mike Suggate, said: “We want Didcot Runners to be at the heart of the community and plogging is just one way that we can give something back to help out.

"Not only do we want to clean up the streets, but we also want to raise awareness about recycling in the community.

"All of the contents of the public bins in Didcot are taken away for incineration, which means none of the street litter is recycled.

"Our aim is to target the cans, bottles and plastic items and take them home to put into our own recycling bins.”

Hailed as a new fitness trend plogging was started by runners angry at the amount of litter they saw when out and about on the streets of Stockholm, Sweden.

Participants tend to avoid cigarette butts and anything that might be damaging to their health and runners have been known to collect seven kilos of litter in one outing.

Exercise-wise, the runs mimic fartlek training because participants run at different speeds depending on whether they see litter and keep having to stop and bend down, making it a fairly healthy work out.

Didcot Runners' club chair Theresa Lamble said: “I was so pleased to see so many of our runners turn out.

"As a club we provide opportunities for all runners, joggers and beginners to get involved in a friendly environment and this is just another example of the good nature of our members."

To get involved with Didcot Runners then email membership@didcotrunners.org.uk or visit didcotrunners.org.uk to find out more.