MADAM - Our grateful thanks must go to the team from Leyhill who have worked so hard to shovel and sweep up the accumulated mud, litter and weeds from both sides of Summer Street.

Could those of us who live here and take a pride in our street now help to keep it clean and litter-free? It doesn’t take much to sweep the path outside your own house and at least keep the front garden tidy.

If you have an elderly neighbour who needs a hand, offer to help them on a regular basis.

As the scourge of older people living on their own who don’t get out much is loneliness, this could make their lives better.

Neighbourliness and community means caring for each other and where we live.

Also, this year is the 15th anniversary of Britain in Bloom and two residents of our street were involved in setting up Stroud in Bloom as members of the newly formed town council.

This is why we have a memorial garden at No 1, The Cross Hands, and pockets of flowers along the street. The snowdrops and crocus have flowered well with daffodils and primroses carrying on the display, moon daisies and a mixed wild flower patch will follow by the redundant phone box which another resident will be repainting shortly.

We are fortunate to have the grassy banks at the street entrance and a long stretch on from the phone box which have been enhanced by all of this appropriate planting. We have plenty of litter bins too but if nobody ate, drank or smoked ‘on the hoof’ they would hardly be needed.

The most important on-going task is keeping our street free of rubbish and dog mess; Britain in Bloom was run for many years by the Tidy Britain Group, latterly by the RHS.

Wouldn’t it be good for Stroud if every street had a make-over, as some areas are so run-down and scruffy, totally lacking in civic pride.

The Crown & Sceptre’s wonderful display of containers at the end of Horns Road are a good example.

It only takes two or three people to start the ball rolling – SDC are always helpful, it was their involvement with Leyhill that has transformed our street this past week because flowers are not enough when surrounded by grot.

J Bailey, Stroud