VOLUNTEERS took to the beaches for a clean-up operation aiming to rid the coast of rubbish.

A group of 32 volunteers picked up more than 30kg of litter on West End, Dovercourt and Harwich beaches, and completed a survey to help the Marine Conservation Society analyse the findings.

Organisers David Haddow and Sally Parfitt both agreed there was less litter found than last year.

This may be because of recent weather conditions that have blown litter offshore, while Harwich beach was also cleared after the motorcycle run.

Sally said plastic was still the biggest problem when it came to litter on beaches.

She said: “We picked up nearly 1,200 small pieces of plastic, foam and polystyrene in just a 100-metre stretch of beach at West End.

“This is a danger to our marine wildlife, as well as being unsightly.”

A national event taking place all around the coast of Britain, the clean-up brought together about10,000 volunteers over the course of last weekend.

“We were lucky with great weather and everyone who took part enjoyed the event and found it very worthwhile,” said Sally.