Daily Mirror

May blocked ban on soldier prosecutio­ns

Dad trapped in kids’ park toy Toddler suffers head injuries in beach fall

- BY JAMES SOMPER mirrornews@mirror.co.uk @DailyMirro­r

MORE than half the packaging litter collected by 45,000 volunteers on beaches and riverways was made by just 10 companies.

Coca-Cola bottles and cans are the most commonly found pieces of packaging polluting our beaches making up nearly

12% of all the litter, says Surfers Against Sewage (SAS).

The conservati­on charity’s 229 clean-ups of UK beaches last month found almost 50,000 pieces of packaging rubbish.

About 20,000 of these items had identifiab­le brand names, with the most common being Coca-Cola, Walkers crisps, Cadbury’s, McDonald’s and Nestlé.

When Coca-Cola’s other brands, such as Costa Coffee and Fanta, were included, its share of the waste was more than 15% of the total.

PepsiCo accounted for more than 10% of the branded waste found, followed by Cadbury’s owner, Mondelez Internatio­nal, with about 7%. McDonald’s accounted for 6% of the total, and Nestlé 5.5%.

The charity said it showed that “big business is responsibl­e for the scourge of WASTE plastic and pollution”.

Except, aren’t we missing something?

Yes, manufactur­ers should be forced to stop using materials that can’t be recycled and take responsibi­lity for the waste associated with their products.

But something can be 100% recyclable and still get left on a beach or in a hedge. The rubbish we leave behind is having a lasting impact on our wildlife, countrysid­e and oceans. On average, the RSPCA gets 14 calls a day about animals injured by litter. Marine creatures like seabirds and whales starve to death when their stomachs become packed full of plastic, while hedgehogs get entangled in the stuff.

Up to 12 million tons of plastic is entering our oceans every year – that’s a rubbish truck full every minute. When plastic waste is collected and transporte­d to landfill sites, it can be at risk of escaping. Even when in landfill, plastic is at risk of blowing away and ending up in rivers or oceans.

But littering – either rubbish that hasn’t been collected or is simply dropped or left behind – also plays a part. These items can be carried by wind and rain into our drainage networks or rivers before ending up in the sea.

Bottles, food packaging and cigarette butts left on the beach – which I see regularly in Brighton – also directly contribute. This anti-social behaviour plagues our environmen­t and poisons wildlife.

If you can’t find a bin – simply take it home.

On June 26, thousands will gather at on Westminste­r to call to the UK’s contributi­on politician­s to reduce a pass laws to ensure climate change and healthier environmen­t. by Greener UK, a It is being organised organisati­ons. coalition of 14 environmen­tal lobby your MP and To find out how to take part, go to greeneruk.org/ time-now. packaging Paul Clark in the toy as daughter looks on Firefighte­rs come to Paul’s rescue A DAD had to be rescued by firefighte­rs after getting stuck in a playground rocker.

Paul Clark, 37, was trapped for 30 minutes after he got on to demonstrat­e it to his daughter.

Paul, of Nottingham, was caught on a video taken by his THERESA May stopped ministers proposing legislatio­n to protect ex-soldiers from prosecutio­n for alleged offences in Northern Ireland, it was reported yesterday.

In a leaked 2018 memo the PM said a consultati­on on the Troubles’ legacy should not refer to “amnesties” and veterans should get “equal” treatment to terrorists.

A Government spokesman said planned laws would offer “stronger legal protection­s for personnel”. PAUL CLARK ON BEING TRAPPED IN THE TOY

‘‘

Rubbish we leave behind is having lasting impact on our environmen­t

If the fire brigade hadn’t come, I’d still be stuck there

daughter. He said: “It was actually quite scary.

“Some people think I was wasting the rescue team’s time but if I hadn’t called them, I’ would still be stuck right now.”

Firefighte­rs unscrewed part of the toy to rescue the dad of four. A BRITISH toddler was airlifted to hospital yesterday after suffering serious head injuries in a freak fall at a beach resort in Majorca.

The 19-month-old boy fell 20ft over the side of a path after slipping from his mum’s arms at rocky Sa Calobra, on the Spanish Island’s north-west coast.

Local reports said he remains in paediatric intensive care at Son Espases hospital, in capital city Palma.

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WOBBLE HOLD STILL
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Chocolate wrapper from 1980s
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