Portsmouth millionaires swap riches for rubbish as they take part in a Shoreham beach clean in West Sussex

The four winners joined fellow lucky National Lottery players from across the south coast to clean up Shoreham beach.

The group volunteered with coastline conservation charity The 2 Minute Foundation to spend a morning scouring the coastline for plastic waste ranging from tiny ‘nurdles’ to plastic water bottles.

Helping the beach clean were Portsmouth residents Patrick and Paula Morling, Sharon Hall and Kevin Francis, who have all won £1 million each playing the National Lottery.

Sharon said: ‘Living on the coast and having served in the Royal Navy for 22 years, looking after our seas is something close to my heart.

‘I knew that, sadly, there’s plastic waste in the ocean and I’ve seen the rubbish washed up on our shores but I was less aware of the plastic we don’t see so easily, the tiny little ‘nurdles’.

‘It is always great to be able to give something back and we’re all delighted to work with The 2 Minute Foundation on this latest project.

‘It’s rewarding to know that a few hours on the beach like this will have a difference, no matter how small, and I hope it will encourage others to ensure our beaches are kept clean so everyone can enjoy them to their full potential.’

SEE ALSO: Defence firm BAE Systems answers the plea to help Portsmouth's vaccination programme

The 2 Minute Foundation, which has received more than £19,410 of lottery funding, encourages people to help clean up the planet just two minutes at a time.

Claire Giner, a campaigns manager from The 2 Minute Foundation, said: ‘This gang of winners have proved just that, in the time we have been here they have collected all manner of small pieces of plastic, and each one collected and recycled is one less causing damage to marine life.

‘It’s amazing what can be achieved when we just take two minutes, or even two hours, to help our environment, and you don’t need to be a millionaire to do that.’

Among the winners taking part with were million pound winners from Southampton Geoff and Judith Coombes, Lizbet Ramus from Shoreham, and Ruth and Peter Doyle from Wiltshire.

By playing any National Lottery game, players generate an average of £36m each week for National Lottery-funded projects.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to our online coverage, including Pompey, for 27p a day.