The swan that built its nest out of plastic
BESIEGED by plastic waste, this swan is doing her best to make a nest for her six precious eggs.
But her cygnets will hatch to a world of discarded crisp packets, polystyrene and takeaway bags.
The stark image has been submitted to Countryfile’s photography competition by Ed Hughes, who captured the scene at Portsmouth’s Old Harbour.
‘If you look around that harbour you can see a few million pounds’ worth of yachts – some of that rubbish must have come from them,’ said the 72-year-old of Basildon, Essex. ‘It just epitomises the state of our world. No one seems to care about the environment around them.’
The Daily Mail is fighting to protect our environment with its Turn the Tide on Plastic campaign. It has already led to a ban on microbeads, and is pushing for wider action against throwaway plastic.