MORE than 150 people removed 40 bags of litter during a major clean-up of Ayr’s South Beach.

The volunteers were rallied by Environmental Volunte er s Ayrshire (EVA) and were joined by Keep Scotland Beautiful to pick up litter and support the My Beach Your Beach campaign, which has been running throughout the summer.

The event, on Sunday, September 16, also added to Marine Conservation Society’s ‘Great British Beach Clean’ taking place across the country in an attempt to generate action against beach litter.

Life-sized litter mascots led five teams to cover 2.5 miles of beach from the Harbour down to Greenan Castle. Prizes were awarded to individuals for the strangest litter items found.

In attendance were representatives from local schools, church groups, Alloway Rotary and some participants had even travelled through from Glasgow.

Councillor Siobhian Brown from Environmental Volunteers Ayrshire, said: “We were delighted by the turnout at the Big Beach Clean in Ayr.

“The enthusiasm and motivation of all the volunteers was tremendous and it was great to see people from all walks of life come together to care for this great beach we have right on our doorstep.

“Environmental Volunteers Ayrshire will continue to work alongside Keep Scotland Beautiful to help keep our coastline clean.”

Ayr beach was selected for the My Beach Your Beach campaign in an effort to improve the quality of its bathing water and raise awareness of the link between behaviour on the land and the cleanliness of the local seawater.

The pilot project, which covers three beaches (Ayr, Portobello and Fisherrow) trialled a number of interventions, including: signage around the beachfront raising awareness of the campaign; community engagement events; packs for local businesses, and colourful bin wraps with key campaign messaging.

Aoife Hutton, Community Projects Officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “We were really pleased to support the efforts to clean up the beach at Ayr.

“The My Beach Your Beach campaign has helped to raise awareness of the potential impact that dog fouling, feeding gulls, and littering can have on water quality.

"We are delighted to see so many people come out in force and help to maintain Ayr beach.

“We can all play a part in cleaning up bathing waters, improving the experience at the seaside for locals and visitors alike. Whilst visitor behaviour is only part of the solution, by bagging and binning dog poo, not feeding the gulls and taking our litter home, we can all help make the water cleaner for everybody to enjoy.”

Calum McPhail, Environment Scientist Manager of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), said: “By targeting behaviour on beachfront areas that can affect bathing water quality, Keep Scotland Beautiful’s ‘My Beach, Your Beach’ campaign complements SEPA’s work to protect and enhance Scotland’s environment.

"We are delighted to be supporting this beach clean, and it’s great to see so many local people get involved.”

The My Beach Your Beach campaign is led by Keep Scotland Beautiful and sits alongside existing work by the charity.