Tenants in Penmaenmawr have thanked a housing association for helping them to restore a sense of pride on their estates.
The clear up organised by Cartrefi Conwy at the Esplanade and Y Berllan shifted 35 tonnes of unwanted items and rubbish.
Among other things, the skips were loaded with broken television sets and old furniture.
Cartrefi Conwy recruited a 20-strong team of volunteers and offenders to muck in and get the job done.
The day was organised by Cartrefi Conwy Community Involvement Coordinator Vicky Kelly.
She enlisted the help of Community Payback teams from Wales Probation and Community Justice Interventions Wales (CJIW) who sent a team of young offenders and volunteers.
Residents from the Bryn Difyr sheltered housing scheme also lent a hand.
The environmental clean-up operation was a precursor to a major facelift for both the Esplanade and Y Berllan where the properties are due for painting and maintenance work
Tenant Gill Morris, who lives in the Esplanade, was delighted with the effort.
She said: “I think it’s absolutely brilliant. It’s fantastic to see them doing a job like this, it’s lovely – and they’ve all been nice, they’ve all been very polite.
“Everybody is joining in – we want to get a community spirit going to keep it all clean and tidy once it’s all done.
“There’s definitely going to be more civic pride here. It’ll give people something to be proud in you see. It’ll be brilliant.”
“The houses are being repainted and we’re having new fences. We’re all mucking in trying to help out by doing our own gardens.”
Vicky Kelly said: “The environmental clean-up day came at the request of the tenants.
“It’s giving the residents an opportunity to bring something out to the skips and it’s gone really well.
“We are really grateful to CJIW and Wales Probation for providing most of the elbow grease.
“It’s making a big difference – not everybody gets the opportunity to go to the skips or the recycling centre in Mochdre.
“This gives people a good chance to have a clear-out before the big makeover.”
As well as the volunteers, CJIW brought a group of young offenders aged between 16 and 18 to help out.
According to CJIW Development Officer David Brown, the clean-up was a perfect example of Community Payback in action.
He said: “The whole point of Community Payback is giving back to the community and the feedback they have had from the community is positive.
“It’s a win win situation really because everybody involved benefits.”
It was a sentiment echoed by Wales Probation Community Payback Supervisor Martin Trigg who was in charge of adult offenders.
“This is the kind of project that Community Payback has been designed to tackle.
“It’s structured like a working day and they work as a team. They are not having a cushy time – they know that they have got to graft.
“We get nice feedback from people saying thank you for what we’re doing. It’s worthwhile and it gives you a sense of pride when you do something well.”
