'FANTASTIC and exciting' were the words used by retail guru Mary Portas to describe the enthusiasm for Liskeard's 'Big Clean Up' weekend.

More than 150 volunteers arrived in Fore Street on Saturday morning, which was a scene of organised chaos as they got stuck into mopping and scrubbing granite fascias and paving stones, painting, weeding and planting.

Adding to the frenzy of activity were the Optomen TV film crew who were filming for a new Ch4 series featuring Mary, to be screened next year.

The shops remained open for business throughout, and the big 'makeover' attracted extra visitors to the town, keen to see the famous Queen of Shops – complete with pink rubber gloves – in action!

Organised by Mary and her Yellow Door marketing retail company, it was part of her own support for Liskeard, since the town team's successful Portas Bid for £100,000 of Government funding to rejuvenate the high street. The idea attracted thousands of pounds of sponsorship from national and small local companies. This ensured all the work was done for free.

'Thanks to everyone's hard work Fore Street has never looked better,' said Mary. 'The atmosphere was fantastic and it was truly inspiring to see what can be achieved when people work together.'

Co-ordinating the event was national building company Mace, and mayoress Jan Powell and councillor Sue Pike, town team members, were responsible for organising the volunteers.

The Saturday morning kicked off with Mary leading a sing song perched on the top of a cherry picker as she got everyone singing Keep On Moving, which had been portrayed in the Helston Portas bid video.

Ten-year-old James Stevenson, pictured above, said: 'I read all about this in The Cornish Times and I said to my mum the town looks a bit dirty, so we came down to help.'