The Mayor of Sefton joined volunteers on a Formby Beach clean event collecting over 130kg of rubbish

On Monday 3rd April, a beach clean went ahead, organised by Andy Laverick, our local Marine Conservation Society Sea Champion.

There were thirty-eight volunteers who worked hard for 90 minutes and collected 28 bags of rubbish from Freshfield beach containing 130kg of waste. This figure unfortunately also includes 938 separate items of plastic.

The Mayor of Sefton, Cllr Iain Brodie-Browne also paid the volunteers a visit. He said: "On a glorious spring morning, I joined volunteers organised by Marine Conservation to help with a survey and litter pick on the beach at Formby."

"A wide range of folk, including several families who were makeing good use of their half term break, turned out. I met employees from Merseytravel on my last visit and they were there again to help. The sales team from Churchill Retirement homes who have a new development in Formby, had also volunteered."

"It was good to see how clean the beach looked but, as we walked up towards Ainsdale -with Blackpool Tower and the Lakeland Hills visible on the northern horizon, it became apparent that there was lots of plastic in amongst the sand dunes and on the foreshore. Plastic is a real environmental problem as it takes so long to decay, let alone the damage that it does to sealife. Thanks to Andy for organising the event."

Andy is trying to increase awareness of the problems that litter in the marine environment can bring. It is also an opportunity to make people aware of what wonderful wildlife exists on our beaches and seas.

Andy said: "Thankyou to all the volunteers for their brilliant work at the clean up today."

This was the friendly Lobster from a previous beach clean (The Lobster is Andy Laverick)

This isn't just about clearing up rubbish to make our beach look better, there is a serious threat to our wildlife as well. Ropes and wire for example can cause entangling of birds and other wildlife. Some of our best-loved marine wildlife is under threat from the waste and litter in our seas, with hundreds of species accidentally eating or becoming entangled in litter. Litter on our beaches is also hazardous to people so we all have a part to play in turning the tide on litter.

In 2015, over 25,000 tonnes of rubbish was picked up, including 10,000 cotton buds, 25,000 crisp packets and 42,000 tin cans were collected. Cleaners also found an array of unusual items including false teeth, a hammer, a plastic leg, two motorbikes, a Smurf, a breast implant and an Action Man. Some of the rubbish is thrown from ships but, sadly, most of it is left by visitors.

Thousands of Visitors flock to our beaches all year round and sadly, not many of them actually pick up their own litter and take it home, they think it will go out with the tide but this endangers our wildlife and we need to get the message out there....

Take your litter home with you.

The message is quite simple as Kate from Formby's National Trust said: "Please take your rubbish home with you, that is the answer."

So remember next time you visit our beautiful beach, help to keep it beautiful - Take your rubbish home.