Eagle-eyed volunteers scour Southsea Beach to spruce up shoreline

The environmental group Southsea Beach Watch scoured Southsea beach in the morning sunshine, picking up receipts, coffee cups and tennis balls as well as documenting the marine fauna that had washed up on the shoreline.

The monthly event sees volunteers look to spruce up the shoreline and document their findings to the Marine Conservation Society.

Lara Skingsley, from Southsea, helps put the event together.

She said: ‘It’s all about keeping the beach clean from rubbish and having a look at what marine fauna is washing up here.

‘We usually walk around a mile, cleaning up where we go.

‘It is great to have volunteers’ support as it’s really important work.’

David Miller, from Southsea, headed down to the beach after hearing about the event online.

He said: ‘I thought I’d dedicate some of my time to help as the amount of rubbish that is left here can be awful at times.

‘It’s a beautiful beach and we need to look after it. We’ve got to do all we can to make sure it looks as tidy as possible.’

Sam Walker and Mark Brook, both from Southsea, were also first-timers at the event.

Sam said: ‘I tend to run or go for walks along the beach most days, so I say this is about giving something back.

‘If we want the beach to look nice and welcoming then we’ve got to do our bit to make sure everybody can enjoy it.’

The group made a note of every piece of rubbish that was bagged, which feeds into a national study by the MCS in a bid to shed light on the state of the country’s beaches.

Jane Di Dino, from Milton, is a regular volunteer for the clean-ups.

She said: ‘It’s so important that we do this or all of the rubbish will just end up back in the sea and pollute it.

‘We are just trying to do our best and make a difference.’

The group runs the clean-ups every first Saturday of the month at Eastney’s Coffee Cup.