'˜Love your beach' with a litter pick this Valentine's Day

The litter heart, made up of bottle tops, plastic straws and food packaging, aimed to showcase the UK’s marine litter problem as part of the #LoveYourBeach campaign.

#LoveYourBeach Day started in Cornwall and was brought to Brighton by the Pier 2 Pier Beach Clean group.

Local marine litter artist Irene Soler created the installation from the 10 bags of litter collected on the day.

Pier 2 Pier said as the BBC’s Blue Planet 2 series demonstrated, millions of tonnes of plastic enter the ocean from the land every day and kill tens of thousands of marine mammals, fish and seabirds.

In order to ‘show your beach some love’ this Valentine’s Day, beach clean organisers advise doing a quick litter-pick on your beach or in your town, as well as refusing single-use plastics and opting for reusable cups, straws, bags and bottles.

Organiser Amy Gibson said: “We were all upset by Blue Planet 2, and we all want to stop the damage we’re doing to the ocean. We can have a huge impact as individuals, so let’s act now and show some love to our beaches this Valentine’s Day”.

The Pier 2 Pier Beach Clean, supported by Brighton and Hove City Council’s Streets Ahead campaign, host mass-beach clean events every month in Brighton.

Last week the group was named ‘Litter Hero’ finalists at the national Keep Britain Tidy awards.

Pier 2 Pier’s next event is a Superhero Silent Disco Beach Clean on March 3 as part of the annual Great British Spring Clean.