A team from Severn Trent and its contractors spent a day with the Maun Conservation Group to tidy up Quarry Lane Nature Reserve, Mansfield.

As well as litter-picking, volunteers helped to clear a pond that had become overgrown with reeds.

This will improve water levels, making the pond a better habitat for water voles and enabling school groups to take part in information sessions there.

They also cleared an area that had become a dumping ground for cables, which together with a pile of pipework was causing an eyesore as well as being a danger to wildlife.

Sarah Spurry, secretary of the Maun Conservation Group, said the team “did sterling work and really made a huge difference”.

A spokesman for Severn Trent said: “Our project to reduce flooding across Mansfield is about to start, where we’re using nature-based solutions like rain gardens and swales to soak up surface water when it rains heavily.

“It was lovely for the team to get to know more about the area and help nature to thrive in other ways in the local community too.”