The Blitz Team has moved into Ely this week to remove litter, clean gullies and open spaces and fix pavements as part of Cardiff Council's Love Where You Live Campaign.

Nineteen streets will be deep cleansed in Ely this week, as the Council has now moved the operations into the southern arc of the outer wards in the city.

Further clean-ups are scheduled in Caerau, Fairwater, Trowbridge, Rumney and Llanrumney during the next six weeks.

The Love Where You Live Campaign has been designed so the Council can carry out additional cleansing operations in wards across the city, as well as work with volunteers and community groups to carry out litter picks.

All of this work is designed to create a sense of pride in the communities that we all live in.

Community groups and volunteers have sprung up across the city and the Council is keen to continue to expand the scheme to get as many people involved as possible.

Over the weekend (August 5 and 6), 20 residents in Pontcanna and 14 residents in Grangetown took to the streets and collectively removed 31 bags of rubbish.

Further community litter picks are planned this week at the International Sports Village, Cathays and Plasnewydd.

Cllr Michael Michael, Cabinet Member for Clean Streets and Recycling, said: "This scheme has been designed to provide additional street cleansing in the areas of the city that most need it.

"It is hard work, as Council workers are digging out silt and debris from between the pavement and the road as well as removing all other litter on council land.

"We started the scheme in the eight inner wards in the city, before moving to the outer wards.

"Now the scheme has moved into the southern parts of the city and we are very keen to set up community groups in these areas.

"Creating a sense of pride in communities across the city is very important. The community work in Pontcanna is an excellent example, as we now have 17 streets with dedicated street litter champions making a huge difference to the community that they live in."

Originally the community litter picks were co-ordinated by the Council during the working week, but now the community groups are setting up their own events, mainly at weekends with the council removing the waste afterwards.

Waste enforcement are also operating in these areas, issuing Fixed Penalty Notices to those who allow waste to build up in their front or back gardens, or put waste outside their property on the wrong date or time or litter the streets of Cardiff .

More information on the scheme and how residents can get involved is available on the Keep Cardiff Tidy website -http://www.keepcardifftidy.com/volunteering/