A CHILD’S bike, a massive tyre, bits of a fibreglass boat and 26 bins bags full of rubbish were cleared from Ham Common beach by volunteers on Friday.

More than 20 people, including teams from Barclays and Lloyds, turned out for the two hour litter-pick - part of the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean weekend.

The hard-working group, which including two residents and two staff from Rockley Park, shifted a massive amount of rubbish including plastic bottles, cans, glass and paper – as well as some unusual larger items.

Keith Bates from Hamworthy, who organised the clean up, said the beach was in a better state than last year, but still “grotty”.

“But we left it in a better state than we found it,” he added.

The weekend’s Great British Beach Clean was expected to have a record turnout, with thousands of volunteers joined by celebrities, politicians and businesses to support the event.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has gathered data from hundreds of beaches over the past 20 years and found a steady rise in beach litter. Last year the annual clean up revealed that there were 2,309 pieces of litter for every kilometre of the coast cleaned – a record high.

Tom Bell, MCS campaigns manager, said: “Fifty years ago, beach litter hardly existed. Today it’s a serious environmental concern. We created this problem and the solution is in our hands.”