WORKERS are battling to clear Exeter’s streets of hundreds of tonnes of fallen leaves.

The great annual leaf clear-up is now in full swing and a dedicated army of vehicles — including two 20 tonne trucks — are helping to clear more than 250 miles of roads in the city.

The city’s street sweepers have also joined in the mission, which has not been made any easier by recent high winds.

So far 176 tonnes of leaves have been collected, but there is still some way to go. Last year more than 400 tonnes were swept up.

Mike Trim, head of Exeter’s cleansing services, said the stormy weather over recent days had added to the challenge.

He said: “The climate has been mild with only small amounts of leaves falling but in the last few days it became slighter colder and we had high winds and rain and a huge amount of leaves have come down all at once.

“We have to prioritise areas, concentrating our resources where there are lots of trees but it is difficult as Exeter is a beautiful city with a large number of trees.

“We are asking residents to be patient as obviously we can’t be everywhere at once.”

While some councils allow leaves to accumulate on the ground and sweep them twice a season, Exeter City Council takes a different approach.

Mr Trim said that the leaves could prove hazardous for pedestrians and cyclists.

He said: “We continuously sweep up the leaves in Exeter because when they get wet they make pathways slippery for pedestrians.”

As in previous years, the city council is using a large mechanical sweeper and three smaller sweepers to clear the leaves. These have been augmented by another large sweeper, hired at the cost of £10,000 for two months.

The mountain of leaves collected will eventually be put to good use by city’s allotment holders and gardeners —they are composted and become part of the council’s annual free compost giveaway in April.

The giveaway is proving increasingly popular, with more than 100 tonnes collected by gardeners this year.

Mr Trim said: “The amount we give away is increasing all the time. We always take at least 16 tonnes to each of the five locations and all of it goes.”

The stormy weather is set to continue for the next few days. Gusts will reach up to 34mph today and up to 40mph tomorrow. Friday is expected to be slightly calmer but stronger winds return on Saturday.

The wet weather is likely to continue at the weekend.