SHOCKED by the items routinely discarded on Studland's beaches, university student Jess Bone decided to do something about it.

Jess, who worked a summer job for the National Trust at Studland Bay, opted to create a 'Did You Forget Something?' washing line, made from the clothes, beachwear and towels left behind on a daily basis.

She pegged out her display at Knoll Beach, where it stayed on display throughout a busy weekend to encourage visitors to clean up after themselves.

The Bournemouth University student, who is studying marine ecology and conservation, explained: "I think for some people when they go on holiday there is kind of a lessened sense of responsibility because it is not your home and you feel you don't have to worry about it so much.

"I would just like people to think a bit more about what they leave behind."

Beach teams at Studland Bay collected 7,500 bags of rubbish during the six weeks of the school holidays.

Over the same period landfill charges cost the National Trust around £1,150 a week for Studland alone, plus a further £200 for recyclables.

Jess said: "I started because I was working here as a visitor experience assistant over the summer and part of our job was to do daily beach cleans.

"A lot of what I was picking up was people's personal possessions like buckets and spades, plus a lot of beachwear and towels."

Items like these can damage the marine environment, experts say.

National Trust assistant director Nick Lawrence said: "Cleaning our beaches is a regular task for our teams of staff and volunteers.

"The National Trust is an independent conservation charity funded through memberships, donation, legacies and commercial operations and it costs £3,000 to look after a mile of coast each year - that is nearly £1 million a year just to look after 300 miles of coastline we care for in the south west."