A NEW weapon to fight the dirt and grime in Hereford city centre has been unleashed.

The 'Glutton' is a state-of-the-art street vacuum that gets into the hard-to-reach places which the council's cleaners miss.

It has been bought by The Hereford Business Improvement District (HBID) in partnership with the city council.

Operations and marketing manager Mike Truelove said: “Our goal is to clean away the unsightly grime and dust that the council’s street cleaners cannot reach – normally found at the edges of streets between the pavement and buildings or underneath street furniture – our Glutton will normally get it."

Operated by two handymen Steve Ball and Chris Wood, who between them are employed part-time seven days a week, the team will constantly work their way around all BID areas to help put the sparkle into Hereford.

Mr Truelove added: “From cleaning programmes in other towns and cities we believe it will take about a month or so before all the dust and litter is properly removed and then from here it will be about simply keeping things maintained.

"We have also adopted the underpass at the bottom of Eign Gate as this is a major route for shoppers into the town and the area needs to look it’s best for such a beautiful city”.

The HBID is a limited company funded by business levy payers within the BID area. Their remit is to improve footfall and drive improvements to the area that will encourage visitors to spend money and appreciate the city for all it has to offer.