An appeal has been made for volunteers to help tidy up a beach.


Registered charity, The Conservation Volunteers, is staging a four-hour clean up of Heybridge Basin beach on Saturday.


Volunteers should meet at the river lock by the Old Ship pub at 11am.
 

Emma Webb, Essex coastal wardens project officer, said: “Litter is a huge problem along our coasts.
 

“It doesn’t just look unpleasant, it can harm and even kill some of our best-loved marine wildlife including sea birds, turtles and whales who have mistaken marine litter for food and actually eaten it.
 

In many cases, this has resulted in starvation, poisoning or entanglement and ultimately a slow, painful death.
 

“The Blackwater Estuary is an internationally important area with a rich variety of wildlife and any help we can give to keep it free from litter is vitally important.”
 

If you would like to take part in the clean up, call Emma on 01206 764470 or email e.webb@tcv.org.uk, so she can make sure there are enough litter pick tools to go round.
You can also visit www.tcv.org.uk/essex for more details.