MORE than 65 bags of rubbish weighing in excess of 300kg have been collected from a Canvey beach.

The staggering amount of rubbish dumped on the beach was picked up by 63 volunteers who took part in Marks &Spencer’s Big Beach Clean-up.

Employees from Thurrock’s M&S were joined by members of the public to protect the area’s marine life as part of the store’s Forever Fish campaign.

Deirdre Mogford, store manager at M&S Thurrock, said: “We were absolutely delighted with the turn-out for this year’s Big Beach Clean-up and would like to thank everyone who gave up their time to help tidy Thorney Bay beach.

“The clean-up is all about bringing the local community together to help protect marine life and the environment, and it was fantastic to see so many people working together, having fun and supporting such a great cause.”

The Forever Fish campaign is funded by profits made from the 5p carrier bag charge in M&S.