BARRELS of toxic waste and a fridge door were among the rubbish found washed up on Norfolk beaches by volunteers determined to highlight the damage being done to our coast.
BARRELS of toxic waste and a fridge door were among the rubbish found washed up on Norfolk beaches by volunteers determined to highlight the damage being done to our coast.
More than 60 people from the UEA and the Campaign to Protect Rural England took part in a mammoth beach clean from Waxham to Horsey last weekend which collected 40 black bin bags of rubbish.
Organiser Elaine Sheriffs said most of the waste cleared up was rope and string - most likely from fishing boats - as well as food rappers and plastic bags. But there were also a number of larger items - some of which were worrying finds.
She said: “We found a buoy, a fisherman's oil skin, a fridge door and one of those enormous exercise balls which was about 3ft high. We also found some barrels with toxic waste in them.”
Unsurprisingly, the volunteers also came across a dead seal during the clean up.
The organiser said one the most upsetting parts was the knowledge that their work had not even scratched the surface.
It is thought the rubbish collected was a mixture of pieces discarded by the fishing industry, picnickers enjoy a visit to the beaches between Waxham and Horsey as well as waste washed further up the coast from busy resorts like Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
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