Two guns were among a huge haul of rubbish dredged from a river in Isleworth.

The pair of antique revolvers were pulled from the Duke of Northumberland's River during a clean-up ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

A spokesman for Hounslow Council said they had been handed to police firearms specialists.

A number of votive statues of the Hindu gods Ganesh and Vishnu, traditionally thrown into the river at religious festivals, were also uncovered during the clean-up, along with more prosaic refuse ranging from discarded trolleys to flattened footballs and beer cans.

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), who help spruce up green spaces across the country, have carried out several clean-up sessions along the river, which runs between Kneller Gardens in Twickenham and the Thames in Isleworth, passing right by Twickenham Stadium en route.

About a tonne of waste has been cleared from every 100m stretch, some of it dating back decades, according to volunteer leader Andrew Flegg.

Some of the votive statues found in the river

The piles of rubbish have been carted off by streets contractor Hounslow Highways, and Carillion, which manages the borough's parks on behalf of Hounslow Council, for recycling or disposal.

The project is being financed using the £157,000 of funding secured through the Mayor of London's Big Green Poll earlier this year, after hundreds of people voted for the river to win a slice of the money up for grabs.

The river was built more than 500 years ago for monks at Syon Abbey, where Syon Park now stands. It used to power a number of mills and still feeds the ornamental ponds in Syon Park, now owned by the Duke of Northumberland.

The river is being cleaned up ahead of the Rugby World Cup, starting on September 18, to make it more attractive for fans heading to Twickenham, which is hosting 10 games during the tournament.

The Big Green Poll money will also be used to make further improvements to the 4km stretch of waterway, in a bid to attract more people to use the riverside walkway. Hounslow and Richmond councils are working with groups including Green Corridor, TCV and FORCE (Friends of the River Crane Environment).

Volunteers with some of the rubbish removed from the river

Councillor Amrit Mann, cabinet member for environment at Hounslow Council, said: "This project is designed to spruce up this little-known green corridor so that it is free of rubbish that has blown in from the surrounding area or been fly-tipped. It is a very quirky piece of the borough's history and one that deserves to be brought back to life for everyone to enjoy.

"My thanks go to The Conservation volunteers and also to Carillion and Hounslow Highways for their hard work in getting this project underway."