HUNDREDS of budding footballers have shown they have safe hands as well as talented feet.

Youngsters from Haddington Athletic Football Club teamed up with Lil, a social enterprise based in the town, to coincide with Recycling Week and the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean.

Together, they helped in the Haddington Litter Blitz, which encouraged people to help clear up the town last month.

Boys and girls from the youth squads picked and bagged litter before and after their training sessions around the team’s Whittingehame Drive playing facility.

Armed with pink rubbish bags and protective gloves, parents and team coaches supervised the players’ efforts and gave a hand to the various age groups.

Colin Bowsher, chairman of the Haddington Athletic Youth Section Committee, said: “This is a great initiative for our teams to be involved in so they can make a tangible contribution to the local community.”

Louise Hastie, a Lil director, said: “We are so impressed by how much Haddington Athletic as a club has supported the Haddington Litter Blitz.

“It shows how easy it is to make a big change when we do Lil things together.

“Haddington Athletic in particular have been our Lil heroes for kicking it off from day one.”