Around 30 youngsters from the Eden's Project, in Sudbury, used the weekend to collect litter, clean gardens and do some decorating.

Youth worker Neil Holmes said: "It was a brilliant weekend. To get 30 teenagers come out and do this when they could have been out doing all sorts of other things on a wonderfully sunny weekend was a fantastic effort.

"They all worked incredibly hard and it was great to see them putting something back into the community."

On Saturday they cleaned the garden of a single mum in Sudbury who has not been able to look after the area herself because of illness. They also tidied up at Uplands Middle School and painted school benches.

On Sunday they spent the day litter picking around the Kingfisher Leisure Centre, railway walk and Friars Meadow.

On Monday, one group painted the snooker room at Delphi Social Club – while another was in the sunshine at Woodhall Primary School, clearing space for a vegetable patch. They also painted sheds and benches at the school.

Said Mr Holmes: "We had a lot of support from people in the town while we were working and Tesco, Waitrose and McDonald's provided lunches.

"The weekend was finished off with a barbecue, which everyone enjoyed."