Campaigner's 100-mile swim to highlight coastal litter

Oly Rush swam up to 13 miles a day along the Unesco World Heritage coast

An anti-litter campaigner has swum the length of the Jurassic Coast in a bid to highlight the issue of marine pollution.

Oly Rush completed the 100-mile (160km) swim from Exmouth in Devon to Highcliffe in Dorset.

He has raised more than £7,000 for charities which have been clearing rubbish left by crowds of visitors to beaches this summer.

He said his "shoulders were crying out a bit" by the end of the challenge.

Mr Rush left Exmouth on 26 August and finished the swim at Highcliffe Beach on Saturday afternoon, beyond the official end of the Jurassic Coast at Studland in order to "round it up" to 100 miles.

Oly Rush said he wanted to raise awareness of plastic pollution in oceans

Swimming up to 13 miles (22km) a day, the route took him the length of the Unesco World Heritage coast, past natural landmarks like Durdle Door, Golden Cap and Old Harry Rocks.

"We saw a lot of things which weren't very nice, a lot of plastic, fishing nets and birds caught up in fishing line. It just strengthened us and reminded us why we were doing it," he said.

Beach clean-ups

"The aim was to raise the issue of plastic pollution - to get people talking about it, thinking about it and hopefully making some positive changes." he said.

Mr Rush, a plasterer from Poole, was involved in beach clean-ups following the influx of visitors after lockdown restrictions were eased.

The challenge raised money for charities Clean Jurassic Coast and GoPladdle and will go towards buying a small boat to allow inaccessible coves and inlets to be cleared of rubbish.

Roy Beale, of Clean Jurassic Coast, who paddled alongside Mr Rush in a support kayak, said it had been a "huge adventure and massive endeavour".

Evidence of marine pollution was found during the swimming challenge