MORE than 100 elephants-worth of leaves will be collected by Cheshire West and Chester Council teams over the coming weeks as they clear up the borough's pavements and roads.

Throughout November and December, the council deploys leaf-clearing teams to keep the borough tidy and tackle the slippery and dangerous conditions.

Using both mechanised and manual sweepers, the teams will be scooping up more than 600 tonnes of leaves – around the same as 100 adult African elephants.

CWAC cabinet member for environment, Cllr Karen Shore, said: “Autumn can make our leafy streets even more scenic than usual, but when the leaves start to fall it does create a lot of work.

“Our teams are working hard to keep our streets looking neat and tidy and to stop leaves becoming a slippery hazard.

"Please take care when walking on compacted leaves and report it to us if it is a problem is your area.

“Please be patient if there has been a rapid fall of leaves during windy weather, as our teams are sometimes unable to respond immediately.”

The timing and rate of leaf fall varies from one year to the next, due to variations in weather such as rainfall levels, wind and frost.

Priority is given to busy footpaths, road and footpaths with many mature trees, areas prone to flooding and areas where leaves have broken down into detritus.

The council’s Highways contractors are also busy dealing with the problems leaves can cause to grids and gullies across west Cheshire.

The service looks after a total of 76,000 gullies where leaf fall can cause blockages and flooding.

The council’s Street Care Pledge sets out a shared commitment with residents to maintain clean and attractive streets.

You can report an issue at westcheshireyourstreets.co.uk