Two sisters have spearheaded a major clean-up of Church Bay after they were shocked to discover that the pristine beach was beset by plastic marine waste and litter.

Jessica and Amanda Burns were joined by more than 30 volunteers yesterday as they tackled the beach, the car park and the reef at the Southampton beauty spot.

The pair donned scuba kits to pluck three lawn chairs from the reef off Church Bay and then joined the rest of the group as they filled a dozen bags with trash and plastic materials that had been washed up.

Ms Burns, 20, who lives just a couple of minutes from Church Bay said: “After a day of snorkelling at Church Bay last weekend my sister and I were shocked by the level of trash we saw.

“We spotted two lawn chairs and a basket submerged by the reefs and found ourselves being wrapped in marine debris as we were swimming.

“So we decided to try to do something about it and get as many people on board.”

The beach clean-up took place between 10am and 3pm and attracted volunteers from the local area as well as further afield.

Ms Burns added: “It was a great success and everyone had a great time.

“We ended up finding three lawn chairs in all, and although one especially was a real struggle, we managed to bring them all in off the reef.

“We are hoping to be able to carry out another clear up later this summer in Church Bay as we also spotted a tyre out at sea that we were not able to bring in on this occasion.

“We really appreciate everyone who came out to help us and all the people who made the clean up such a success.”