Cumbria's beach cleaning experts have praised social media campaigners ahead of the ‘Great British Beach Clean’ (GBBC) which tales place on 16-19 September.

Morcambe Bay co-ordinator of the national group LOVEmyBEACH, Emma McColm and the Evening Mail's Big Clean campaign have praised a new social media initiative and are urging people to get involved with the new phenomenon called #2minutebeachclean.

The Twitter campaign was launched by an environmental crusader living in Cornwall and has spread like wild fire all over England. Mrs McColm said: "I have really loved this new campaign as it encourages people to get cleaning as part of their every day routine. If people just picked up a couple of pieces of litter on their lunch break or while they are out walking the dog then the beaches and countryside would get tidier a lot faster."

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The importance of social media and video blogging has become incredibly important for Mrs McColm when it comes to recruiting new volunteers for the various cleans she organises in Cumbria.

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The Evening Mail are encouraging local residents to come forward and get involved with beach cleans as The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), the UK’s leading marine charity, as so disappointed with the participation in this year's GBBC.

To help encourage people Mrs McColm has just released a series of Youtube videos to get people more enthusiastic about beach cleans. She said: "They are really a great fun way of doing something to help the community.

"We are really pushing hard at the moment for more volunteers as we have a lot of regulars who do a great job but we would love to get a great range of age groups and new faces."

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This year's GBBC will cover many of Cumbria's most beautiful beaches and makes a huge difference to the wildlife and habitats there.

Lauren Eyles, MCS Beachwatch Manager, reported that the data collected through the Beachwatch programme is vital. She said: “It helps us identify different litter sources and raise awareness of particular problems. We’re currently running a campaign for clearer wet wipe labelling after our volunteers found on average, 50 wet wipes per km of beach they cleaned! So far almost 6,000 people have supported our petition to get retailers to make their packaging clearer.”

If you would like to get involved in the event this Saturday, you can join Big Clean volunteers at North Walney Nature Reserve. Volunteers will meet at West Shore Car park at 3.30pm.

For more information please contact: gabrielle.rowley@nwemail.co.uk.