Dedicated village volunteers turned out in force on Sunday to transform an ugly drain into a beautiful flowing stream.

The DRAG (Drain Restoration Action Group) was formed in September 2018 by Wraysbury neighbours Garry Fitch, 47 and Jenny Strange, 62 to raise awareness of the neglected, overgrown Wraysbury Brook.

Their ambition was to restore the drain to an attractive water feature - particularly the overgrown area known as the Splash.

The dream became a reality on Sunday. It began when professionals Stephen Hair of SH Tree Services and Mark Gowing from Property Improvements joined resident Nick Carter at 8.30am using heavy duty equipment to get things ready, so that the 40 plus volunteers who arrived an hour later could start removing litter and overgrown vegetation.

The drain is a 2.5 mile stretch running from the Horton Brook near Wraysbury Railway Station to Hythe End where it joins the Thames. Along its path it enters The Splash and borders the Village Green then passes under the bridge in Windsor Road.

At 3pm Mr Fitch, who is chairman of DRAG, thanked the volunteers. He said: “What a fantastic turnout from our village, everyone working on their tasks in harmony and with such laughter and rapport. What everyone has achieved today goes well beyond my expectations and shows how committed they are to restore the drain to its original beauty and purpose.”

Wraysbury Parish Council and and the Royal Borough were represented at Sunday’s clean up day by councillors Mike Williams and David Cannon, who each got stuck in to help.

The volunteers' work complimented recent work by the Royal Borough in repairing a weir near the Railway Station resulting in the waterflow being restored.