Over the course of four days, 332 volunteers joined Laura Shearer and Anna Chouler from the Coast Care initiative to collect 600kgs of rubbish, which included the usual array of bizarre items such as a child’s bike, DVD player, tyres, traffic cones and 231 balloons.

Laura said: “It has been fantastic to see so many people want to get involved to protect our seas. We have all seen the shocking images of wildlife trapped in litter, so this was a great opportunity for everyone to be involved in turning the tide on marine litter. During the weekend, we met many people from all walks of life - children, schoolteachers, lawyers, car salesmen - all wanting to help. Every piece of litter removed can make a difference.”

The ‘Coast Care’ project area is the coastal landscape from Amble in the south, to Berwick in the north, stretching west as far as Lowick, Belford and Alnwick. It is supported thanks to money raised by National Lottery players through a grant of £522,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and is organised by the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, the Northumberland Coast AONB partnership and Seahouses Development Trust.

You can follow the Coast Care project on Facebook and on their website www.coast-care.co.uk.