Volunteers remove 60 tonnes of rubbish from Isles of Scilly

The rubbish was collected from beaches and coves on Scilly over a two-week period

About 60 tonnes of waste has been removed from beaches and coves at the Isles of Scilly, environmental volunteers say.

Clean Ocean Sailing, a Cornwall-based charity, said the rubbish was collected from across the archipelago over a two-week period.

The rubbish is to be sailed to a recycling depot in Exeter, Devon.

Volunteers picked up rubbish which washed up from as far as China and the Americas, the charity said.

Rubbish drifted to the Isles of Scilly from as far as China and the Americas

Steve Green said ocean currents had made the Scilly Isles a landing spot for rubbish.

"It's not the locals who are littering here - in fact, anything that we find that is identifiable has come from all over the world," he added.

"We've found things with American, South American and Chinese branding on it.

"It's a real shame that there is so much plastic in the ocean, and because the Scillies are the first landfall for the Gulf Stream, it all ends up here before it goes to the mainland."

Jaclyn Pearson, Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust conservation manager, added: "The whole world is connected with invasive species and plastics.

"Unfortunately they can congregate here on our tiny archipelago and we do need to do our best to try and protect it."

The rubbish will be sailed to a recycling depot in Exeter, Devon