Car tyres, 18 shopping trollies and almost 2,000 bags of rubbish collected by volunteers in beach clean-ups

Hundreds of volunteers have collected a record five tonnes of rubbish from Durham’s Heritage Coast this year.
Students from Durham University and other members of the public helping clean the beach at Seaham recentlyStudents from Durham University and other members of the public helping clean the beach at Seaham recently
Students from Durham University and other members of the public helping clean the beach at Seaham recently

Schools, universities, businesses, community groups and individuals have taken part in 90 beach cleans – more than ever before - to help keep the coastline beautiful and safe.Almost 2,000 bags of rubbish, mainly plastic bottles, cans and discarded or lost fishing nets were removed from the stretch between Seaham and Crimdon, along with car tyres and 18 shopping trollies.Heritage Coast Officer, Louise Harrington, says she has been heartened by the response from volunteers.she said: “It’s fantastic to see the enthusiasm to deal with this problem from all sorts of people, young or old, local to the area or not.“Some of the rubbish has been left by visitors but the majority of it has been washed down from the rivers and it’s a challenge to keep on top of it.“I’m very proud of all the volunteers who have given up a total of 1,650 days to help out.”

She added: “I know there are a lot of people who litter pick whenever they visit the coast, too. We’re very grateful to everyone helping to keep our coastline beautiful and safe for visitors and wildlife.”The most recent beach clean at Seaham involved members of the public and 27 Durham University students.The final official Durham Heritage Coast beach clean of 2019 is on Sunday December 15 at Red Acre beach, Seaham – next to the Marina – from 11am - 1pm.For more information, please visit www.durhamheritagecoast.org.

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