What can you find on a beach…?

Swimming trunks, a fishing rod and part of a car exhaust system were among the surprising items found on the latest beach clean organised by staff at Living Coasts.

The charity zoo’s Events Coordinator Hayley Gibson said: “We had 72 volunteers on the day, which was fantastic, and we collected 4 large bin bags full of litter. Goodrington is a fairly well-kept beach, but if you look beneath the surface you will find lots of rubbish!

“Some of the more peculiar item included a pair of Speedos, a fishing rod and part of a car exhaust pipe. There were as usual lots of crisp packets, single-use plastic bottles and cigarette ends - most people don’t realise how detrimental cigarette ends are to the environment.”

Torquay’s coastal zoo has planned another local beach clean on Wednesday 14th August at Torre Abbey Sands. People can register to volunteer on the Living Coasts website. Hayley added: “We can do regular beach cleans because we have the support of WBW Solicitors, who have sponsored all of this summer’s Living Coasts beach cleans.”

The day was hot, but volunteers who took part in this beach clean were surprised and delighted when Splashdown@Quaywest kindly donated free ice cream to them all.