Bedmax staff and their families take part in Great British Beach Clean on Northumberland coast

Employees from Belford-based Bedmax Shavings were joined by their families at Cheswick beach, between Berwick and Holy Island, last weekend.

They collected plastic rope, polystyrene, plastic bottle tops, crisp wrappers, beer cans, plastic bags and even a lost sock!

Bedmax managing director Tim Smalley said: "I am very proud that our staff took an afternoon out of their weekend to support this important cause. We are spoilt here in Northumberland with the beauty of our beaches, so it is imperative that we do our bit to keep them clean.

“What was encouraging was that although we did remove some litter, we were actually pleasantly surprised how clean the beach was and this is testament to the awareness being raised through projects like the Great British Beach Clean.”

Following the clean-up, everyone enjoyed a fish and chip supper delivered by the Cannon Fish & Chip Shop in Berwick. All litter was removed from the beach and recycled where appropriate.

The data collected at Great British Beach Clean events is collated and used to raise awareness of pollution and tackle it at source in the UK.

So far 319 tonnes of litter has been removed from UK beaches and logging items found has helped to influence the banning of micro-plastics in personal care products, better wet wipe labelling and supporting tax on single use items.