Five GoodGym Yorkies turned out on a mild summer's evening to bash some balsam.

Their mission was to protect the river banks by pulling up invasive Himalayan balsam. This will give native species of plants more chance to thrive.

Christine, Paul and Leanne arrived first and met Roger from the River Foss Society at the pre-arranged meeting point. He led them down the riverside path to the scene of the balsam. Paul was a balsam virgin, so got a quick lesson in how to recognise it and pull it up. He'd bravely turned up with bare legs, despite warnings of nettles... It didn't seem to bother him though. Soon he was pulling up balsam like a pro, occasionally pausing to make friends with snails.

Ellie and Ben (another balsam bashing virgin) had been delayed, but that didn't stop them from coming down and tagging in for a second shift as the others went home for dinner.