FAMILY WHO’VE ALREADY GOT STUCK IN

East Beach, Shoeburyness, Essex SS3 9AE Twelve members of the Burton family got together last weekend to clear an area of beach at Shoeburyness, on the Thames estuary, piled high with litter after the recent warm weather.

Tracy Burton, 47, a recep-tionist, says the family was galvanised by her eldest son, Owen, 19, who organised a group chat and made sure everyone was equipped.

‘Owen is a vegetarian and he really cares about the environment,’ says Tracy.

‘But I think his concerns are heightened now that he has a little boy of his own.’ In two hours, the family scooped six full black bags of rubbish, then took them home to separate out the plastic and filled four bags with plastic for recycling.

‘It is incredible how much we managed to find in such a small area of beach,’ says Tracy. ‘There were loads of bottles, sanitary products and condoms — even one syringe. It was disgusting.

‘But the worst is the bags of dog mess. People think they’re biodegradable, but I can’t understand why they don’t drop them in the bins that line the beach.’