A GROUP of Pitsea residents are so fed up with their rubbishstrewn estates, they are clearing them up themselves.

Community champion Pat Grogan shows me around the Chalvedon estates in Pitsea – including Beambridge, Moretons and Broomfields.

We start our tour in Beambridge, which now has neatly-trimmed hedges, clear pathways and tidy gardens.

But to achieve this, residents spent hours clearing waist-high weeds, and collected more than 100 bags of rubbish.

More than 20 residents joined in with the clean-up, but then we spot someone has dumped a broken cot and dirty nappy on an alleyway corner.

The further we walk down Beambridge the more the weeds sprout up, clearly marking the starting point for the next clean-up.

Mr Grogan, who moved to Beambridge in 1975, disputes Basildon Council’s claims about how regularly it cleans the area and say the alleys are not done.

The weeds line the walkways, graffiti can be seen on some of the walls and the pavements are potholed and cracked.

He said: “These are the forgotten estates and enough is enough. It is a disgrace.

“When I moved here you couldn’t put walls up around the gardens, there was a whole list of regulations.

“The council owes a duty of care to the estates. They have gone downhill so much.

“There is only so much we can do.

“I believe if it was to clean it up, it would save money in the long run as people would take an interest in the area. Why should they now.”

In Moretons we bump into Kim Pearson, 52, Pauline Davis, 71, and Tracy Rawlinson, 48, who all use mobility scooters to get around.

Mrs Davis said: “I have nearly fallen off. There is either broken pavements or rubbish. It is dangerous.”

As we continue our walk we discover it is not just Beambridge residents who have taken matters into their own hands.

Al Bartlett, 78, and her neighbour Glenda Beckwith, have chopped back overgrown bushes in Moreton Mews to ensure they can get to their homes safely.

Mrs Bartlett, who walks with a crutch, says she will have to start work on the path behind her back garden as workmen need to be able to get in.

She said: “I live here and I pay my rates, my home is clean on the inside, and I want it be clean on the outside.”

On our way back, we go through the Travers Way underpass, where the weeds encroach much further than just lining the wall and I am told it fills with water when it rains.

As we come back into Beambridge the difference is stark and the residents’ work really is noticeable.

Basildon Council, which provided the equipment for the clean-up, says the road is swept at least once every six weeks and litter picked at least every four.

But Mr Grogan, who feels there needs to be a focus on deep cleaning all of the estates, has started a petition and believes the council would be better spending money there than on projects such as the £30million Leisure Square in the town centre.

Whether he will be successful remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, he will not give up easily.

He had even managed to have the broken cot and nappy removed by the time we finish our walk.