Falmouth beaches left covered in broken glass, fires and nails over the Easter weekend
Campaigners are calling for action
Campaigners are calling for action as beaches in Falmouth were left covered in fires and litter over the Easter weekend.
Across the bank holiday, 48 large nails, 33 fire pits and 14 big bits of broken glass were found in the sand.
Volunteers from Plastic Free Falmouth spent hours each day clearing up the rubbish as they try to clamp down on the problem.
They say Gylly was the worst affected beach but it is a problem everywhere.
"We were finding an awful lot of stuff buried under the sand.
"We noticed there were an awful lot of abandoned fire pits, so when people have fires on the beach, which they're not supposed to, they often think that by covering it with sand they're doing the right thing but I think they forget that buries everything.
"There were still three hot ones and when people set fire to pallets, the metal doesn't melt, so what happens is all the nails and screws that were inside those pallets just sit in the sand."
Plastic Free Falmouth volunteer
They are urging people to clear up their rubbish and take it home with them, to help keep other beach-goers safe.
"None of us want to be the fun police, we all enjoy being out in our open spaces, you should be able to have a safe barbecue and a picnic and fun with family and friends, particularly at the moment as we've had a really challenging year, but the message has to be 'clean up after yourself'.
"I've given up two hours a day all Easter weekend to go and pick up other people's broken glass, cans and nails from fires, and I do it because I don't want children to get hurt, dogs to get hurt, paddleboarders, walkers, swimmers, I do it for the community.
"Gylly was the worst but it is a problem everywhere."
Plastic Free Falmouth volunteer