TEN TVs, six fridges and a mattress are among the nine tonnes of rubbish which was collected during a major festive clear-out at Stansted Airport.

The week-long tidy up was carried out by the airport in a bid to spruce itself up as it prepares to welcome more than one million flyers this Christmas.

All nine tonnes of the abandoned rubbish will now be recycled or disposed of in a way which avoids it going to landfill.

Bosses say they hope it will not only improve the passenger experience but also make preparations for a £600million transformation project that will start early next year easier.

Toasters, computers, fans, heaters, radios, photocopying machines, chairs, pushchairs, plastic, umbrellas and building tools were also found.

It was organised by the facilities management team with waste experts Mitie and Grundons and saw workers across the airport do their bit.

Facilities boss Helen Spall said: "I’m delighted with the response to our waste amnesty from the 12,000 colleagues and 200 businesses across the airport and it has enabled us to not only remove over nine tonnes of rubbish in a sustainable and responsible way but importantly create a smarter, more tidy and efficient Stansted as we head into our busiest ever festive period.

"At London Stansted we divert all our waste away from landfill and recycle more than 75 percent of it and here on site we are running what is effectively a small town so it’s really important we do all we can to manage our environmental impacts.

"We already have a host of initiatives at the airport to help maintain and improve how we deal with the waste generated by our operation, including our award-winning scheme to donate food and toiletries surrendered at security to local foodbanks, but the amnesty week gave us a unique opportunity to do even more."