MEMBERS of Teignbridge Canoe Club took to the water last weekend to remove plastics and other litter from the Teign estuary.

The club, which is based on Teignmouth seafront, collected 863 individual items of plastics from the shoreline, filling seven bin bags.

The most common items collected included drink bottles and lids, plastic straws, disposable coffee cups and pieces of polystyrene.

They also found three abandoned boats filled with waste on the water’s edge, which they intend to raise with the appropriate authorities.

Club chairman Kevin Jones said: ‘Our club paddlers spend a lot of time on the water, in and around the Teign estuary so it was great to run an event that was focused on improving its environment. We were all surprised by just how much litter and plastic we found on the shoreline, and what a difference we could make in a short space of time’.

Adrian Evans from the club added: ‘Globally it’s estimated that between 1.15 to 2.4 million tonnes of plastics enter our oceans every year.

‘This is killing our marine life and breaking down into smaller micro-plastics which is getting into our food chain. The public can help avoid this from happening by picking up litter and avoiding single-use plastics where possible. The film A Plastic Ocean on Netflix is a great way to learn more about the scale of the problem.’