A SCUBA diving club did their bit for the community on Saturday by cleaning up about half a ton of waste.

Members of the Pro Scuba Dive Shop in Denby Dale decided to get their hands dirty by spending the morning clearing out rubbish thrown into Holme Valley river. They were joined in the clean-up by staff from G & C Plastering Contractors, of Holmfirth.

The clear-up came at an ideal time, with the Holmfirth Festival of Folk taking place that day.

And the eight divers did a great job, managing to clear at least half a ton of rubbish from the riverbed.

Chris Greaves, member of Pro Scuba Diving Club, said: “There have recently been quite a few complaints about the state of the village so through our Project Aware scheme we were keen to do as much as we could to sort the problem out. There were all sorts thrown in there, bikes and metal bars – everything!

“The council had given us 30 large bin liners, and all were full to the brim with rubbish.”