BAGS full of rubbish have been removed from a much-loved beach.
Volunteers spent two hours on a 300ft stretch of Seaton Carew beach collecting 424 pieces of litter.
BAGS full of rubbish have been removed from a much-loved beach.
Volunteers spent two hours on a 300ft stretch of Seaton Carew beach collecting 424 pieces of litter.
Their haul included everything from lilos to carrier bags.
Offenders have now been warned they face fixed penalty fines if they are caught dropping litter.
The 33 helpers joined in as part of the Marine Conservation Society's (MCS) national annual Beachwatch project.
Among the sand, people picked out more than 200 carrier bags, 40 drinks bottles and 40 drinks cans.
The Seaton tidy-up was organised by Keeley Metcalfe, Hartlepool Borough Council's Pride in Hartlepool officer, who provided rubbish sacks and litter pickers.
She said: "We had a great turnout and bags full of rubbish. It's great to tidy up the beach but the emphasis is on the data.
"I'm recording all the data and we will send that on to the MCS who will have a national database so they can monitor litter and campaign for cleaner seas.
"Last year also went very well and it shows that people care about the beach and hopefully people will pay the beach more respect."
The clean-up comes just before the council starts its very own Operation Clean Sweep that will run all this week until Friday along Seaton sea front.
The initiative was launched by Mayor Stuart Drummond in 2003 and sees the council's resources focused on one area of town at a time.
This year will see three separate areas blitzed with Seaton Carew chosen in the south.
It will see graffiti removal, litter picking, removal of rocks from the beach, repairing seats, weeding and improving street lighting.
Neighbourhood enforcement staff will also patrol the area to educate residents and give out fixed penalty notices for littering and dog fouling.
Volunteers with rubbish collected
- What do you think? Click the email link to send us your views
