A SOUTHEND store is calling for volunteers to help clean Jubilee Beach.

Marks & Spencer is organising its fourth annual Big Beach Clean-Up and needs energetic volunteers to help clear litter from the popular beach in Eastern Esplanade.

The event will take place on Friday, May 8, from 10am and will be hosted in partnership with the Marine Conservation Society.

Residents, businesses, students and societies are invited to join in helping to scoop up the rubbish.

Lana Lee, the M&S store manager at Southend, said: “A fantastic effort was made last year with about 250km of coastline and canals cleared nationwide, which resulted in 4,000 bin bags full of litter collected.

“This year we’re calling upon as many local people as possible to take part in their local Big Beach Clean-Up event. It’s a great initiative that brings communities together to do something worthwhile, but it’s always great fun, too.”

Most of the litter collected will be common waste items, such as wrappers, drink bottles and lids, as well as fishing lines.

It is also likely to include wet wipes, after the Marine Conservation Society’s survey published this week, which reported a 50 per cent jump in the number found on beaches in 2014 compared with the previous year.

Last year, 10,950 cotton buds, 21,900 wrappers and 55,600 pieces of plastic were collected around the country.

Cleaners also found an array of unusual items, including false teeth, a hammer, a plastic leg, two motorbikes, a Smurf, a breast implant and an Action Man.

Samantha Fanshawe, the Marine Conservation Society chief executive, said: “The Big Beach Clean-up has grown year on year, involving thousands of amazing volunteers ready to don gloves and pick up the rubbish left behind by others, washed down from rivers or discarded from fishing boats and ships.

“Beach litter levels around the UK are sadly increasing – by more than 6 per cent, according to our most recent UK survey.

The event will take place at 135 beaches and canals between May 7 and 13. It is expected that more than 8,000 people, including 3,000 M&S employees and 5,000 customers, will take part.

To find out more, visit www.marksandspencer.com/ plana