IT was more a case of 'getting mess out of the river' than 'messing ab-out on the river' when around 60 soldiers from 1 Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment tackled the River Bourne in Tidworth.

The soldiers extracted enough rubbish and algae from the river to fill an eight ton army truck.

It is not the first time that the military have taken it upon themselves to clear the river of rubbish and in addition to the ubiquitous shopping trolley they landed an old electric mower and some tyres. The idea for PWRR to get involved came from 20 year old Private Stuart Coles who lives and works in Tidworth.

"I saw the mess in the river when I arrived in Tidworth last year and I was appalled," said Stuart.

"When I heard about Tidworth Community Challenge in garrison standing orders I thought it was a good opportunity for us to get involved."

The River Bourne is a winterbourne that sometimes fails to flow in dry winters and it tends to be forgotten about most years.

Last winter it reminded people of its presence and burst its banks and has, most unusually, continued to flow during the summer.

It had dried up by the end of June but recent rain gave it a new lease of life in time for the clean up enabling to soldiers to enjoy themselves slopping about in six inches of sloppy algae.

"I was a bit worried about what people would say when they saw the water," added Stuart. The clean up will now be one of the entries in the Community Challenge competition.