Drained lake cleared of pants, paddles and goggles

Volunteers cleared debris and silt before allowing the seawater back in

Pants, paddles, jewellery, goggles and broken glass were some of the items found when a marine lake underwent its bi-annual draining.

It took seven hours to empty Clevedon Marine Lake in North Somerset and 85 volunteers helped clear the debris and silt before allowing the seawater back in.

Joe Norman, chair of the lake trustees, said it was "very important" that the maintenance was carried out to "protect the future of the lake".

It took just 20 minutes to refill the lake once the tide came back in, allowing swimmers to return for a cold swim on Wednesday morning.

Mr Norman remembers playing in the lake as a child and started volunteering in 2004.

He said the lake is a "real community asset and it's a joy to see it being used".

Last week the two sluice gates were opened to let the estimated 300 million litres (66 million gallons) of water drain from the lake and then the team of volunteers moved in to clear all the rubbish.

A large group of volunteers spent hours finding lost items left at the bottom of the lake

"I found a bra this week, lots of goggles and one flipper," said swimmer and volunteer, Louise Reed-Daunter.

Ms Reed-Daunter said everyone wanted to help because they "love the lake and it means so much to them".

She added: "It's a really fun atmosphere, we all pull together as a community."

On Tuesday night the sluice gates were closed and the water poured back over the wall creating a 250m waterfall.