'Merry band' help clean graffiti-hit park

The Saturday Green Team project sees volunteers litter pick on the third Saturday of each month

A graffiti-plagued park forming part of a trail connecting historic sites along the River Tyne is being cleaned up and made safer, conservation chiefs say.

Jet washers have been used to remove spray paint from sculptures within Gateshead's Riverside Park, located between the borough's Quays area and Dunston Staiths.

Overgrown trees and pathways are also being cut back, while volunteers take part in a monthly litter pick.

The park is part of the nine-mile (14km) Tyne Derwent Way, which stretches from the centre of Gateshead to the National Trust's Gibside estate in the Derwent Valley.

As well as graffiti, the site has also seen evidence of drinking and drug taking.

'It's a beginning'

Home to 13 artworks, it is an important area for people and wildlife, according to Lucy Zwolinska, community and participation consultant at the trust.

"Six months or a year ago you would never have thought it could happen," she said. "It's a site you wouldn't have gone in before.

"The sculptures look so good now they’ve been cleaned. Some people have said they didn't know they were there, so making them more visible is really beneficial.

"We've [also] got quite a merry band of people who come along for a couple of hours for our monthly Saturday Green Team project, litter picking and opening up areas.

"It's far from being finished, but it’s a beginning."

A sculpture named Rise and Fall has been jet washed and a specialist is due to assess whether a lighting feature can be revived

Volunteer Rebecca Wade, of Allerdene, in Gateshead, explains helping at the site "gives a sense of satisfaction" and is an opportunity to meet fellow nature lovers.

The trust's volunteer and community manager, Stewart Turnbull, says "a dozen or so people form a core group" attending the Saturday sessions.

"People like getting involved in whatever way they can, but making the area cleaner and safer is beneficial for people living nearby too."

The park has long been a magnet for fly-tipping

Stomping Grounds North East, a charity connecting people with the outdoors, has also created a "forest school" on the site providing sessions for local children and families.

Further restoration work on some of the sculptures was planned for the coming months and it was hoped Gateshead Council would arrange a contractor to remove larger items dumped in the park grounds, Mr Turnbull said.