“David, I have been running beach cleans for the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Plymouth Local Group for eight years on our adopted beach at Batten Bay, to which this article refers.

In that time I have spoken to a lot of people who simply have not realised the state of our beaches and the potential consequences that marine litter can have on both wildlife and beach visitors.

Beach cleans are a very effective eye-opener for members of the public and a great way to educate people about the impacts of marine litter.

Your idea is good in theory but would be difficult and costly to enforce unfortunately, which is why we continue to clean up our local beaches despite the ever-increasing tide of litter! Education is key and we hope that by raising awareness of the problem, we can start to deal with it at source - and the results from our cleanups are used by the MCS to tackle marine litter at local, national and international levels. Our efforts really do help to make a difference.

If anyone would like to know more about volunteering for the MCS in Plymouth, they can have a look at our website at http://www.mcsplymouthlocalgroup.co.uk. If they would like to know more about the MCS and the Adopt-a-Beach scheme, as well as it's results and acheivements, they can check out their website on http://www.mcsuk.org.”

“The people taking part in this litter pick are to be commended but surely the priority should be suitable punishment for those who turn our towns and cities into eyesores. A heavy fine and being made to spend so many hours unpaid picking up litter might make them see the error of their ways.”