Volunteers take part in two-mile coastal clean-up in Somerset

19 February 2023

Beach litter pick — Image caption,
Volunteers walked more than two miles from Minehead to Dunster on their coastal clean-up

Around 100 people collected "an incredible amount of litter" when they took part in a beach clean in Somerset.

Plastic Free Exmoor led volunteers on the coastal clean-up between Minehead and Dunster on Saturday.

They made a record of what was recovered and will feed back to the group to assess the state of litter around coastlines.

Peter Hoyland, Plastic Free Exmoor community lead, said there was a wonderful atmosphere among the group.

Peter Hoyland

Volunteers scour a two-mile stretch of the Somerset coastline for litter on Saturday

Volunteers met at the Beach Hotel in Minehead and walked for more than two miles across the beach towards Dunster.

Mr Hoyland said that people from across the county had been joined by visitors from further afield who had travelled in order to take part in the clean-up.

Peter Hoyland

More than 100 people join efforts to clean up the beach between Minehead and Dunster

"It's a really good time to do it after all the winter storms where lots of debris has been washed up from the sea," he said.

"The wind tends to blow up further onto the sand so we do tend to collect quite a lot and the things we find are quite varied as well," added Mr Hoyland.

Pete Hoyland

The litter collected will help Surfers Against Sewage assess the state of the coastline

Peter Hoyland

People felt they were making a difference, Mr Hoyland said

Among the items recovered included bottles, cans, large pieces of plastic and metal, shoes, clothes, and lots of fishing commercial equipment including a large plastic buoy.

"We collected an incredible amount of litter. It was a wonderful atmosphere with everyone feeling like they were making a difference," Mr Hoyland said.