An army of volunteers will hit the beaches to give them a spring clean.

The Great Dorset Beach Clean is back - running from Saturday, April 2 to Sunday, April 10, coinciding with the first weekend of the Easter school break.

Entering its 32nd year for 2022, there will be 16 beach cleans hosted by a variety of Dorset organisations and community groups covering the whole of the county's coast.

Local clean-ups confirmed so far as part of the campaign are at Seatown and Lyme Regis on April 3 and at Charmouth on April 10.

Organised by Litter Free Dorset, an environmental group who campaign to reduce inland, coastal and marine litter, they hope to see as many residents as possible from the county get involved and help clear up the Dorset coast.

Sophie Colley, Litter Free Dorset’s coordinator, said: “Get involved with this year’s Great Dorset Beach Clean to have some fun, meet like-minded people from the community and take part in an Easter litter hunt.

“Help us clear up our beaches prior to the summer season so we can spread the message that in Dorset we like to keep our beaches clean.”

Last year more than 300 volunteers took part in 19 beach cleans across the county clearing 165 bags of rubbish including tyres, buried rusty lobster pots, tents, oil drums and a gazebo from Dorset’s beaches.

Lizzie Prior, beach watch manager at the Marine Conservation Society, said: “The Great Dorset Beach Clean is a fantastic project, and we’re really pleased to be involved in this year’s events.

“We’ll be hosting a beach clean and litter survey for volunteers on 5th April. The data our volunteers collect has a direct impact on our work at the Marine Conservation Society; it helped us to push for plastic bag charges across the UK and we’ve since seen numbers of bags on beaches consistently drop.

“From a high of 13 on average in 2013, to just three per 100 metres in 2021. Getting involved in beach cleaning projects is a fantastic opportunity to get outdoors, give back and protect our ocean.”

For further information including the list of beach cleans or to get involved visit https://litterfreedorset.co.uk or contact litterfreedorset@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk