TWO Wee County children have been formally recognised for their heroic efforts in keeping their community tidy.

Amelia Oliver, 6, and Riley Macfarlane, 4, were hailed for their work as Keep Scotland Beautiful presented them with the prestigious Clean Up Scotland Hero of the Month award.

The Sauchie duo earned the acclaim for their continued commitment to clearing their home town of litter.

Indeed, officials from Clean Up Scotland confirmed they are the youngest ever recipients of the award and will both be given a hero kit for their efforts.

Their mum Carrie Brennan spoke of how she is regularly persuaded by the children to take them outside to pick up litter.

They often visit Branshill Park and have spent many hours clearing rubbish from the area.

Carrie said: "I am really proud of the children for receiving this award. They are really keen litter pickers and it is a great way to get them outside and spending quality time in the fresh air.

"Amelia loves litter picking 'because it helps the Earth and the animals' and Riley always tells me how much fun he has had.

"The children recently asked me for equipment that they could use and the hero kit will be a big help in future litter picks."

The Hero of the Month award is supported by The Helping Hand Company which provides each hero kit complete with a new Scottish litter picker and handy hoop.

Every month, Keep Scotland Beautiful has presented a Clean Up Scotland Hero award, recognising the outstanding contribution of an individual, or group, to cleaning up Scotland.

To support Scotland's Year of Young People 2018, all Clean Up Scotland heroes in 2018 are under the age of 26.

Heather McLaughlin, community project officer with Keep Scotland Beautiful was on hand to hand over the award to the Wee County pair.

She said: "I would like to commend Amelia and Riley for their enthusiasm for picking up litter locally. They really do set a high standard for other young people.

"I really hope that their commitment motivates people, young and old, to get involved and take responsibility for their litter.

"There are volunteers all across Scotland like Amelia and Riley who are working very hard to clean up and green up their local area.

"In this important Year of Young People 2018, I would encourage everyone to nominate their young local heroes for our Hero of the Month award."

The Clean Up Scotland campaign encourages everyone to get involved.

Anyone interested can visit keepscotlandbeautiful.org/cleanupscotland to find out how they can help with the campaign's ambition to make Scotland the cleanest country in Europe.