ROMSEY brushed up well when judges swooped for a surprise assessment of cleanliness and litter control.

The town was handed four stars out of a possible five when inspectors from the British Council Clean Britain Awards dropped by.

Criteria included fly-tipping, waste-bin management, discarded chewing gum and cigarette-butt litter and dog fouling.

The judge’s overall assessment said: “Romsey can be proud of the standards of cleanliness and litter control seen throughout the town. There is obviously a concerted effort by relevant management and staff to ensure that visitors take away a very good impression of this town.”

Test Valley Borough Council’s cabinet member for the environment, Peter Boulton, added: "We should all be very proud that Romsey Town achieved a four-star grade.

“The town is always very clean, thanks to the hard work of the cleansing team and the care and consideration given by both residents and visitors who don’t drop their litter and help to keep the town clean and tidy.

“This is recognition of the effort we have put in to keeping the borough clean and we are committed to ensuring that if residents report that something is not meeting these standards, then we work to ensure that this is resolved as soon as possible.”