More than 140 bags of debris removed from base of cliffs near Eastbourne

The debris was removed on Tuesday, August 23, by members of Beachy Head and Seven Sisters Extreme Plastic Object Removal (BHASSEXPLORE) - a foundation which aims to remove plastic and man-made debris from along the coast.

The collection was carried out by Beachy Head and Seven Sisters.

A BHASSEXPLORE spokesperson said: “Conditions were near perfect and skipper David Hughes gave the go-ahead for the operation from this challenging location just 24 hours in advance.

"This location is now the cleanest it has been for 60+ years, since the ‘plastic age’ began.

"Fifteen tonnes of nasty, harmful plastic and synthetic materials have now been gathered and bagged and permanently removed from this ruggedly beautiful ‘coastscape’ over the past two-and-a-half years by BHASSEXPLORE.

"A massive thank you goes out to all the crew of the East Sussex 1 and the Maritime Volunteers Service who assisted with the fifth boat removal of all the fishing industry and general shipping debris that was laying about all along this incredible coastline.”

The group said it will continue to remove marine debris from along the local coastline.

The spokesperson added: “We have removed approximately 30 tonnes now from difficult-to-clear locations such as Cow Gap, the Beachy Head Lighthouse zone, Birling Gap and the Cuckmere Haven estuary, as well as underwater structures all along our coastline and Eastbourne's pier and groynes.

“All our work is funded by public donations and carried out by environmentally conscious individuals.”

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