Somersfield Academy pupils have raised funds to pay for a high-tech gadget designed to suck up garbage from the sea and help fund an education programme at an environmental charity.

Thibaut Stefani, 13, Kieran Kimberley and Liam Greenlaw, both 14, used a combination of crowdfunding, company donations and school events, including a movie night which raised $1,500 on its own.

Now a total of $4,000 will be used to install a Seabin off the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in Hamilton and $1,525 will go to charity Greenrock.

Kieran said: “Organising the movie night was probably the hardest part. It definitely wasn’t as hard as we’d imagined but it was still a challenge.”

Donations also came from international companies Bacardi Limited, Aspen Insurance, Ascot Group, Armour Group and Enstar Group. The trio launched their fundraising bid as part of a school community project.

They said they were inspired by an earlier project involving a beach cleanup with the America’s Cup Endeavour Programme.

After research on the dangers of plastic pollution in the ocean, the boys decided raising funds for a Seabin would help solve the environmental problem. The Seabin — a filtration device that captures litter in a net for safe disposal — is expected to be up and running by the end of the summer.

The device will join two others active on the island. The pupils also made a three-minute video on the risk plastic debris poses to the world’s seas.

Liam added that the three could tackle the threat of water pollution in future projects. He said: “In two years our school’s doing something called a personal project which is where each of us go into our separate projects, so one of us might do something along those lines.”

Craig Davies, rear commodore at the RBYC, said: “I want to thank Kieran, Thibaut and Liam for all their hard work in raising funds for the purchase of the Seabin and for their concern about our natural environment. They are a fine example for others.”