THEY are the volunteers who help North Ayrshire sparkle.

And that’s why they were celebrated as the council’s Streetscene team held its first-ever Volunteer Recognition Lunch.

The event, held at the recently refurbished Saltcoats Town Hall, was organised to thank them all for their hard work, dedication and demonstration of civic pride which makes North Ayrshire a better place.

Volunteers from all across North Ayrshire were present at the event including the council’s youngest volunteers from the Dreghorn Primary School Eco Committee.

The pupils have helped with beach cleans and are working with Streetscene on their next project to adopt an area for bedding plants in Dreghorn.

The guest speaker was Jacalyn Laird from Keep Scotland Beautiful.

The Streetscene team maintain 2,410 hectares of public open space across North Ayrshire.

Councillor Jim Montgomerie, Cabinet Member for Place, said: “Streetscene do a fantastic job in keeping North Ayrshire clean and tidy for our communities.

“The volunteers are passionate about their communities and whether it’s cleaning their local beach or helping maintain a local park, always do an amazing job.

“We were delighted to hold the event which gave us all a chance to let them know just how grateful we are.”