WITH autumn on its way, people are being urged to ‘adopt’ stretches of their local coastline in a bid to help keep our nation’s beaches clean and beautiful.

Keep Wales Tidy, one of Wales’ leading environmental charities, are encouraging people to join in with a range of local coastal clean-ups as the summer draws to a close to help keep up the great standard of our beaches.

Launched in May 2014, the Coast Care project, delivered by Keep Wales Tidy and funded by the Welsh Government, saw thousands of volunteers take part in clean-ups across Wales in the annual Clean Coast Week to help get our beaches back to beautiful after storms devastated the coastline, leaving some areas unrecognisable.

Volunteers collected more than 2,700 bags of rubbish in the lead up to the busy summer months.

For more information on caring for the coast, email coast@keepwalestidy.org or call Zoe Abbott, Senior Coastal Programmes Officer on 01646 694800.

Wales’ coast won 138 awards this year, including 34 locations winning the prestigious international Blue Flag Award for excellent water quality and facilities.

The environmental charity is hoping that, with more people continuing to take care of their local beach throughout the quieter autumn months, good standards will be maintained throughout the year.

As part of their efforts, Keep Wales Tidy hosts the national clean-up event, Tidy Wales Week, which runs from Monday September 15-21, which will see people of all ages across Wales helping their communities by taking care of their local environment and cleaning up unsightly rubbish.

For more information on Tidy Wales Week events, or to register your own visit http://www.keepwalestidy.org/tidywales or email tww@keepwalestidy.org

Another simple way of doing your bit while on a stroll of your local beach is to take part in a two minute beach clean! Simply take two minutes to fill your pockets (or whatever else you may have handy) with any litter you may see, take a photograph of your efforts and share them on social media, using the hashtag #2minbeachclean

Lesley Jones, chief executive for Keep Wales Tidy said: “The coastline is very important for Wales as it can boost local economies and the tourism industry and allows us to showcase our beautiful country. It’s important that we get together to help maintain the high standard of our coast. I hope that people from across Wales can spend some time at their nearest coastal area to ensure that locals and visitors can continue to enjoy our natural surroundings.”