In the bags - rubbish collected from the beach during the Skegness effort in the Million Mile Clean.In the bags - rubbish collected from the beach during the Skegness effort in the Million Mile Clean.
In the bags - rubbish collected from the beach during the Skegness effort in the Million Mile Clean.

PICTURES: Praise for Million Mile Clean volunteers in Lincolnshire

Skegness Mayor has praised a team of young environmentalists for cleaning up the beach as part of a major campaign running throughout the county.

Lincolnshire Climate Conscious Students (LCCS) and volunteers were out in force over the weekend removing plastic pollution and junk in the national Million Mile Clean.

The campaign was launched by Surfers Against Sewage and saw the groups removing litter from greenspaces, streets and waterways across the county. Nationwide, 100,000 volunteers paddled and walked 10 miles to clean the places they love.

In Skegness, Mayor Coun Trevor Burnham, and Deputy Mayor Coun Billy Brookes joined LCCS members and other volunteers at the Pier on Saturday afternoon. Six bags of rubbish were collected, including cans, sweet wrappers and plastic ice-cream spoons.

Coun Burnham said: "I would like to congratulate the young people on their efforts. It was nice to see them out there caring for the environment and promoting litter picking.

"Interestingly a family of about eight people who were on the beach at the time saw what we were doing and I could hear the mum telling everyone to clear up their litter before they left. We also had lots of members of the public coming up and saying well done for doing it.

"Rubbish is a massive problem all over the country. We will be welcoming everyone over the Bank Holiday weekend but we do ask that they use the bins or take their rubbish home with them so we can protect the environment."

Other cleans took part in Cleethorpes, Boston, Horncastle, Lincoln, Ruskington and Seaford. Theo Griffiths, LCCS’s group coordinator, who took part in the Skegness beach clean, said "It’s absolutely amazing to see all of these organisations have teamed up to point out how much of an issue this, and to help clean up our streets."

Victoria Haw, of Plastic Free Boston, says: "All of these local orgs have organised a coordinated event to support the Surfers Against Sewage National Million Miles Clean-up campaign. This event is adding to the fabulous work of the local Wombles. With recent weather, the wildlife has taken a battering and lots of rubbish risks finding its way into the waterways. This clean up aims to lessen the impact. I think it’s great we were able to work together to organise a county-wide event and look forward to working with everyone again."

Roberta Bray, of Plastic Free Sleaford, said: "It was an amazing experience being part of something much bigger and rewarding knowing how much litter we've stopped from ending up in waterways and ultimately the sea. It's a great way to meet new like-minded people, creating a wonderful sense of community which ultimately is what our campaign is."

Alison Fairchild, representing Plastic Free Horncastle, said: "It was good to be gathering all types of litter. You can get taken over by the plastics issue. Drinks cans etc bring their own problems too."

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In Skegness, Mayor Coun Trevor Burnham, and Deputy Mayor Coun Billy Brookes joined LCCS members and other volunteers at the Pier on Saturday afternoon. Six bags of rubbish were collected, including cans, sweet wrappers and plastic ice-cream spoons.

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