Eighty bags of litter were collected during a morning beach clean at Freshwater West.

Around 40 volunteers collected marine litter from the beach. They included members of environmental groups from Ireland, who were visiting Pembrokeshire in an attempt to raise awareness of the problem of marine litter.

South Pembrokeshire MP Nick Ainger, who also attended the clean-up, said he was impressed at the turn out but warned fishermen to stop using the sea as a ‘dumping ground’.

“I was very impressed to see the large number of volunteers of all ages who came to the beach clean. In a short space of time we collected a huge amount of litter.

“A lot of it was from the commercial fishing industry and shows that we have to persuade fishermen to stop dumping nets and lines overboard.

“They pose a real threat to wildlife — the industry has to stop using the sea as a dumping ground.

“This material will not degrade but will pose a big risk for many years.”