Last updated at 21:28, Thursday, 17 May 2012

Two groups of volunteers have been out in force cleaning up beaches.

Harrington beach was given a spring clean on Saturday as one of 50 across the UK in the Big Beach Clean-up.

The initiative was part of Marks & Spencer’s Forever Fish campaign and is organised by the Marine Conservation Society.

It aimed to stop common items such as fishing nets, rope and bottle tops polluting the beach and sea.

Marks & Spencer provided snacks for the volunteers, and children were invited to get involved with their parents.

Richard Gillies, director of Plan A, Marks & Spen-cer’s eco and ethical programme, said: “We only source from the most sustainable sources, but this is something more, this is our chance to get out onto beaches with our customers and take direct action to help protect marine life and our coastline.”

And at Allonby volunteers braved the rain to clear the beach of litter.

Allonby lies within the Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is protected under legislation by Natural England.

But the beach had been left in a particularly bad state after the numbers of visitors were attracted there by the warm weather in March.

The Solway Coast AONB team and its volunteers carried out a litter pick last Wednesday.

Graeme Proud, Solway Coast ranger, said beach litter was becoming a huge problem.

First published at 19:20, Thursday, 17 May 2012
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk