OWNERS of a Christchurch cafe have turned their backs on plastic in a bid to help the environment.

Ron and Jo Smith of the Beach Hut Cafe in Friar's Cliff are the latest to take action following the screening of David Attenborough's Blue Planet II.

The series provoked mass public reaction when it revealed the shocking effect of discarded plastic on marine life.

Businesses across the UK have pledged to take steps to avoid polluting the sea and the Beach Hut is the latest.

It launched a new range of takeaway items including cups, lids, tumblers, straws, food boxed and bags, none of which contain plastic.

Jo told the Daily Echo: "It sounds a bit of a cliche but we watched Blue Planet and decided we needed to do our bit on this stretch of beach.

"Anything we can do to help will be better than nothing and we hope to encourage other people to be more responsible too."

Jo said she and Ron had to track down new suppliers to become more environmentally-friendly and that the items are more expensive than plastic.

"We have had to move away from the local suppliers and look further afield," she said. "But we think the local suppliers are planning to make changes and we will go back to them if they can supply us with the things we need.

"The items are more expensive but it is worth it. We won't be passing the extra cost on to the our customers - we will absorb the cost ourselves."

She said the reaction from customers has been "brilliant" and outlined other environmentally-friendly measures taken by the business.

It offers a 20p discount on hot drinks if customers bring their own refillable cup and also has bins outside for cardboard, plastic and cans, which it recycles.

Across the water at the Beach House restaurant on Mudeford Sandbank plastic straws have been banned and staff said they plan to address the issue of plastic coffee lids in the near future.