UNIVERSITY staff and students have taken up a Scandinavian fitness fad to pick up litter while they are out jogging.

More than a dozen volunteers took part in the first official “plogging” session on the University of Sussex campus in Falmer on Wednesday afternoon.

The fitness trend has been taken up around the world, including in the US and Australia, since the term was first coined in Sweden 18 months ago ago.

The event was organised by the university’s social sport partnership Active US group.

Megan Lloyd, the running activator for Sussexsport, came up with the idea for bringing the trend to the university campus.

The 23-year-old childhood and youth student said: “I was inspired by my mum to organise the event as we both found plogging online via running social media channels and both really wanted to give it a go.

“I was given the opportunity to organise one more event with Active Us before I graduate, so I thought it was a great chance to get the university involved on a larger scale with the Active US scheme and to also do some good for the environment.

“This event is initially a one-off but with the level of interest shown from both students and staff then there is the possibility that plogging could become a more regular activity in the next academic year.

“Even around our own campus, which always looks really pristine and relatively litter free, we found plenty of litter once you started looking hard. We know there are other parts of Brighton and Hove that could benefit from our ploggers’ energy and passion for litter clearance such as the beach after a busy, sunny weekend.”

Ms Lloyd organises weekly beginner, experienced and social runs alongside one-off events such as Holi Run, a colour run inspired by a Hindu festival, a zombie run and now the recent trend plogging.

The students and staff worked together using gloves and bin bags to pick up the rubbish while jogging on a three-mile loop around the campus.

Marc Slowey, participation coordinator at Sussexsport, said: “Active US offers students a variety of non-competitive, low commitment, low-cost, drop-in activities and we try and offer as broad a range of options as possible including bouldering, beach volleyball, UV sports, stand up paddleboarding, and kayaking.

“Plogging is a great way to get fit but with the added bonus of doing a good deed and helping to clear up litter.

“Our beautiful campus is a great place for a run and at any point of the day, you’re likely to see students running around it.

“If plogging catches on, the sight of runners with bin bags in their hand will soon become much more common.”