First beach clean of the year on Saturday

MORE than 100 environmental enthusiasts are set to flood the beaches in Portsmouth tomorrow to help clean the area.
One of beach cleans back in SeptemberOne of beach cleans back in September
One of beach cleans back in September

Three people have been recruited to lead the first 2019 beach clean held by the Marine Conservation Society thanks to its popularity over the last few months but there is still plenty of room for more volunteers to sign up ahead of tomorrow's event.

Organiser Jane Di Dino said: '˜It's a great community effort from people who come out to help clean the beaches, which shows how many people care. We have people from all over the city support us, which is brilliant. 

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'˜Everyone has a lot of fun while clearing away all the rubbish at our events and I'm sure this will be another fun occasion. The weather is meant to be cold but not raining so we are hoping for a good turnout.

'˜We've had up to 400 people before but normally we get between 100-200 people. We normally find all kinds of rubbish, from road signs to fish hooks and even a dog shark.

'˜We've got three new coordinators now as we wanted to make it more friendly and better to talk to people and find out why they wanted to help and what they found.'

The clean will start near the Coffee Cup on Eastney Esplanade on Saturday at 10am with equipment, including bags, gloves and litter pickers, being provided. 

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Students from a primary school in Hedge End are among those who have signed up along with Sarah Mitas and her team from MAKE who are aiming to use the rubbish to make a chandelier back at their workshop in Fratton.

Jane said: '˜We're so pleased to have their support. It's brilliant they are turning the rubbish into a chandelier. 

Bags will need to be returned to the start point at 11.45am and the aim is to remove anything man-made from the beach, including plastics, metals, glass and textiles, no matter how small.

Those interested need to register as a volunteer with Beachwatch by visiting mcsuk.org/beachwatch/beach/southsea/event/2019-01-05?fbclid=IwAR2wyQsKi0y_vlNtYqCWDkL5W9Mypx3xlea-UgstTLWM_DbU3Yv1g_Px1t4

Children and dogs are welcome.'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹