A NATIONAL marine charity has urged people to take part in helping to clear beaches around Yorkshire.

The Marine Conservation Society is looking for people to join beach cleans at Robin’s Hood Bay, Scarborough, Filey and Flamborough. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) runs regular beach cleans around the UK which this year will culminate in the Great British Beach Clean over the weekend of September 19 to 22.

Tom Bell, MCS Campaigns Manager, said: “Our domestic habits over the last 50 years or so have resulted in dirty beaches. We throw more stuff away than ever. Plastic in the marine environment may take hundreds of years to break down and it washes up or is blown onto beaches in bits from micro pieces to larger chunks.

“We flush stuff down the loo we shouldn’t, and that ends up in our water ways and then our beaches. We want to see people turning out to clean up their favourite or local beach during our Great British Beach Clean weekend – please don’t turn your back on our beaches.”

There are beach clean events in Yorkshire Flamborough, Hessle Foreshore, Hornsea, Spurn, Hunmanby Gap, Robin Hood’s Bay, Sandsend, Scarbough, Sewerby Steps, Tate Hill Sands, Filey, and Reighton Sands.

To find out dates and times at individual beaches and to sign up to the Great British Beach Clean in Yorkshire, register at mcsuk.org/greatbritishbeachclean or call 01989 567807.