And this year volunteers and British Waterways staff will be carrying out similar work in Dewsbury as part of Towpath Tidy.

On Saturday, they will be litter- picking, removing graffiti, cutting back towpath vegetation and doing maintenance at Dewsbury canal basin and the Calder and Hebble navigation.

The national event is supported by author Bill Bryson, who is president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

He said: "Britain's canals and rivers are incomparable spaces for people to enjoy. I urge everybody who wants to get Britain cleaned up to get involved and help tidy a towpath, pick up some litter or scrub off some graffiti."

Tidy Towpath 2010 is aiming to surpass last year's event, which saw more than 1,700 volunteers joining 635 British Waterways staff working on 216 miles of towpath.

Kirklees Cabinet member for the environment Coun Mary Harkin said: "The Towpath Tidy event is a great initiative and I would urge people to get involved in helping to improve the appearance of our canals and towpaths."

For more information on the Dewsbury event email Rebecca Dent at rebecca.dent@britishwaterways.co.uk or call 0113 281 6811.

Volunteers are asked to make contact to register beforehand and meet at 9.30am at the Leggers Inn pub at Savile Town Wharf.