Beach clean-ups after crowds leave litter along North East coast

Volunteers and beach cleaners collected dozens of bags of litter after the hot weather drew large crowds to North East beaches.

Many said they were upset about the amount of rubbish left behind.

Local swimming groups and volunteers filled bin and carrier bags with rubbish to prevent it from being swept into the sea.

Julie Howard, a volunteer with Hartlepool Big Town Tidy-Up said 40 bags of litter were removed from Seaton Carew beach.

"The beach was left in a pretty disgraceful condition, the beaches were full all day and evening and people had just left behind their litter, so plastic bottles, barbecues, lots of broken glass and beach towels, a really disappointing state," she said.

One regular swimmer said the beach at Seaham Marina was "disgusting" with so much rubbish including 15 beach towels left behind.

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].