NOT MANY bands encourage their audience to shout “rubbish” after a performance.

But that’s exactly what the Rubbish Singers asked before taking out the trash on a windswept day in Petersfield on the last Thursday before Christmas.

Petersfield has a new litter picking group in town: they combine singing with a strong sense of civic duty with their repertoire including carols, modern hits and unique ditties with a litter or local twist.

They sing because it lifts their spirits, and they pick up litter because they want to make Petersfield a tidier place to live in. Simple, really.

The band was the brainchild of Petersfield Life Church stalwart Andrew Bulmer with Steve Sargent of the Free Radicals conducting.

Mr Bulmer said: “We have a history at the Life Church of picking up litter around town and we had a think about how to make it more enjoyable.

“So we added singing to it. It’s good for the spirit and the soul.”

Wails of ‘rubbish” followed each song at their inaugural performance outside the town hall with the likes of We Wish You a Merry Christmas and I Have A Dream between three original litter-themed ditties.