PADDLEBOARDERS have been making the best of the last summer days with blackberry and litter picking along the Regent’s Canal.

Setting off from the Islington Boat Club in Angel, a total of 131 people have paddled through the canals to clear 104 trugs of rubbish and recyclables from the water around City Road Basin, where picnickers often sit on the towpath to enjoy the warm weather.

They’ve had fun doing it, too – gliding up to those hard to access blackberry bushes along the water’s edge for a quick snack.

Paddleboard instructor Nicola Baird – the author behind the Islington Faces blog and canal-focused fiction book Not That Deep – has reminded Tribune readers in the past that there’s nothing to worry about if you fall in, as long as you wash off with soap afterwards.