A BUDE resident joined two volunteers to take part in a celebratory clean-up on Polzeath beach, following their completion of over 220 consecutive beach cleans over the last six years.

When Deb Rosser first took up litter picking in May 2010, little did she know that six years later she would have done an astonishing 77 monthly clean-ups.

Deb, a teacher, moved to Bude from Essex around six and a half years ago, and immediately joined forces with like-minded people to take part in monthly clean-ups on Crooklets beach, as part of Keep Britain Tidy’s BeachCare campaign.

In the past six years, Deb and her group have collected almost four tonnes of rubbish from the beach, including a glass fish tank, some rubber ducks and several ‘g-strings’!

Deb said: “When we first moved down here, we rented a beach hut on Crooklets beach. I sat and watched the marine litter coming in on the swells. I decided I wanted to do something about it.”

On August 19, Deb joined fellow BeachCare volunteers Nick Pickles and Andy Goodall, as well as representatives of Keep Britain Tidy and South West Water, for a celebratory clean-up in Polzeath.

Since the launch of the BeachCare project at Polzeath in 2010, Nick and his group have removed 7.6 tonnes of rubbish from the beach, and Andy and his group have totted up 70 consecutive monthly clean-ups over six years at Fistral beach.

Deb added: “Joining BeachCare was a great way to meet people and do something positive. Every bit of marine litter I pick up is one piece less in the ocean doing damage and, although we are just a tiny cog in a vey big wheel, we are doing our bit and doing our best.”

Keep Britain Tidy’s chief executive, Allison Ogden-Newton, said: “Deb, Nick and Andy, together with all the other amazing BeachCare volunteers, are making a real difference to these beautiful places and their commitment to improving the environment for everyone is astonishing.”