SCORES of Petersfield and Liss parents and children collected more than 100 bin bags full of plastic waste from a beach at Hayling Island to highlight ocean pollution issues.

Organised by Abigail Newman, of Surfers Against Sewage, the beach clean near the Ferry Boat Inn went ahead on Friday, April 13.

Abigail said: “There was an amazing turnout of more than 125 volunteers, and of these, 70 adults and about 36 children were from Petersfield and Liss.

“Lots of the volunteers were shocked by the amount of micro beads and cotton buds we collected.

“It’s not just plastic bottles and bags that are a problem, it’s the tiny nurdles – plastic resin pellets, a primary source of micro-plastics.

“Micro plastics are toxic so we had to get the rubbish incinerated.

“I would like to thank everyone who gave up their time to help with this major problem on our coastline.”

Petersfield mother-of-two Gemma Sills said: “I went with my children, as I thought it was important to teach them about the effect plastic has in the ocean.

“I was totally shocked by the amount of micro plastic we found, something you don’t really notice until you look closely.”

Liss mother Debs Wetherall said: “Two of my children came and learned about plastic waste and how it gets there. The amount of single use plastic we collected was astounding.

“It’s vital to start making small changes in the way we all use plastic, and events such as this are a fantastic way to teach and inspire everyone of all ages.”

For details about future beach cleans, and events Abi aims to run in schools, e-mail: [email protected]