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Record player among beach rubbish
A RECORD player, handbag, clothes and underwear and a seven foot plastic road block are among the unusual items found dumped on Whitby's Tate Hill beach by volunteers.
Whitby Civic Society members have joined forces with Phillipa Valentine, who is a member of the Marine Conservation Society to help clean up the beach as part of its Adopt a Beach scheme.
As part of the scheme, volunteers complete a survey every three months, which includes details of the types of rubbish found on the beach.
By recording information on the quantities and types of litter found on the beach, the society is able to target specific sources of litter and influence government policy, industry practices and help develop solutions to this modern-day environmental hazard.
On a recent Sunday volunteers recovered 26lb of rubbish.
Phillipa, of Scarborough, at first tackled the beach single handedly before members of the civic society joined her.
She said: “I first saw an advert for the Marine Conservation Society on television one Sunday night and I wanted to do something to help.
“I started in Scarborough but, when I got a job in Whitby, it made sense to help clean up that beach too”.
The volunteers find the amount of rubbish varies depending on the time of year it is, the tides, and the weather.
Phillipa said items they have found include a handbag, polystyrene containers, bits of rope and discarded fishing material.
“We’ve found some strange things over the time we’ve spent cleaning the beach,” she said.
“They’ve ranged from a seven-foot plastic roadblock to clothes and underwear, and once we found a record player on Tate Hill Sands. I don’t know why anybody would want to get rid of a record player on the beach, but it appears they did.
“There is often a lot of food and drink-related rubbish scattered across the sand, as well as cotton buds that people have flushed down the toilet which have found their way through the sewerage system onto the beach.”Anyone who wishes to find out more about the Adopt a Beach scheme can obtain information by calling Phillipa on (01947) 605599.
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Weather for Whitby
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light snow
Temperature: -0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South
