ITEMS from a cargo that washed overboard last month are continuing to wash up onto Dorset beaches.

Cigarettes, pet food, sachets of tea, packets of feta cheese and olives are just some of the items that have been found.

The cargo was separated from the Svenborg Maersk containership during storms in the Bay of Biscay.

A number of local residents have tried to remove the items that have washed up along the coast between West Bexington in the west and Hengistbury Head in the east.

Chesil Beach is continuing to see the highest concentration of cargo. The Dorset Waste Partnership (DWP) has collected and disposed of nearly 10 tonnes of litter from the beach.

Tim Limbach, from Dorchester, who often visits Chesil Beach with his wife, said they had tried to organise their own clean-up for the affected area.

He said: “We love nature and birds in particular. Last year we helped with the Little Tern Project as volunteer wardens.

“I tried to set one up having been down there and helped with other ones.

“For me it is something that needs to be done every weekend until it’s clean.”

Mr Limbach said a lot of the litter was in difficult to get to places, claiming it existed ‘as far as the eye can see’.

He said: “There’s an awful lot of rubbish there. It is very frustrating but very difficult for individuals. It is a long way to take it from the beach to the vehicles.

“There are still hundreds of cartons of cigarettes. There are a lot of dead birds.”

The DWP is continuing to work with landowners, volunteers and other agencies to coordinate the clean-up.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) recently reported that a fourth container had been spotted off Start Point in Devon.

The cost of the clean-up operation is currently being covered by the loss adjustor for the container ship.

A beach clean will take place at Chesil Beach this Sunday from 11am. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Chesil Beach Centre.

In addition to this, the 26th annual Great Dorset Beach Clean will take place on April 27.

For more details, visit dorsetforyou.com/greatdorsetbeachclean