Community volunteers are drafting in a bird of prey to demonstrate how pesky rodents can be combatted on the streets of Willesden Green.

Members of the local Town Team will be calling on Reggie the Harris hawk as part of a day-long community clean-up operation on Willesden High Road next Saturday.

Reggie and his handler Daniel from Toten Pest Control will be giving a demonstration on tackling pests such as rats and pigeons.

Around 40 activists will be sprucing up the High Road by washing pavements, giving railings a fresh lick of paint and clearing up litter.

Town Team Chair Deb Mahs said: “The Walm Lane side of the High Road is doing okay but if you go beyond St Andrew’s Church it is dusty, dirty and rat-ridden. It looks like a third-world country.”

Volunteers, who will be joined by members of the London Fire Brigade and waste management company Veolia, will be meeting outside the Dudden Hill Community Centre armed with buckets and litter-pickers from 11am-4pm on July 4.

Cakes and refreshments will also be available to fuel the afternoon clean-up.

Ms Mahs added: “I think as a community we need to learn how to clean our own back yard. If we did, it could be an absolutely stunning area.”