SURFERS Against Sewage (SAS) were joined by a hundred volunteers recently to help make Widemouth Bay barefoot friendly for all to enjoy.

This was the third year of the hugely popular SAS Barefoot Beach Clean Tour and Widemouth Bay was the last of the five stunning beaches that were visited between the July 28 and August 1.

The volunteers collected 295.5kgs of litter, the vast majority of which was plastic. It was a great spread of young and old, with a large number of locals but a strong contingent of holiday makers.

Studies show that each year our tide lines are flooded with ever-increasing amounts of marine litter. Over 70 per cent of this litter is plastic, which sadly causes the deaths of over a million marine mammals and seabirds each year. However, with more great support this terrible tide of marine litter can begin to turn.

The beach cleans took place between 3pm 5pm and all beach cleaners enjoyed a free Barefoot/SAS Volunteers t-shirt and, as a thank you for their time. There was also a delicious free barbecue on the beach, washed down with samples of wine, giving everyone the chance to reflect on a job well done.

This is the third year that Barefoot has partnered with the SAS team and the beach cleaning campaign. Barefoot supports hundreds of local and community events, charity fundraisers, music festivals and sporting events throughout the year and the SAS partnership is an integral part of the community project work.

SAS Campaign Officer, Dom Ferris, said: Widemouth was my favourite stop on the tour. We were all really blown away by the support we receive from the public. Locals obviously really value their beach and want to do their part to protect them, just like the whole team at SAS. Thanks to everyone who joined us to make Widemouth beach barefoot friendly.

Chief Barefooter, Ali Feest, commented: Its great to be able to support such a worthwhile campaign and we are honoured to be working with the SAS again for the third year in a row. The tour has been a fantastic opportunity for people of all ages to get together and show their support for British beaches. We had great fun rolling up our sleeves and getting stuck into the 2010 tour.