Second-hand buckets and spades offered in Clacton-on-Sea

Used toys such as buckets and spades can be left at collection boxes along the beach in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex

A seaside town's beach toy library is to be extended to encourage visitors to recycle things like buckets and spades.

Permission has been given to double the number of collection boxes in Clacton, Essex, to six after a successful pilot.

It was the idea of litter-pickers Zoe Tipple and her daughter, who were alarmed at the amount of plastic waste.

She said: "People seem to treat everything as being throwaway and we wanted to stop plastics heading into the sea and landfill."

People can leave small inflatables and beach toys such as spades, tennis bats and sand moulds in the library boxes for others to use.

Litter pickers in the town regularly find discarded plastic items such as sand moulds

Ms Tipple and daughter Kayleigh Seal, who run eco-friendly shop UnSealed in the town, have been doing daily litter picks along Clacton-on-Sea seafront for about three years and find many discarded toys every time.

They convinced Tendring District Council to allow them to set up three toy collection boxes on the promenade as a pilot at the start of August and the authority has since given permission for three more, which should be in place by the weekend.

"We're trying to be mini crusaders. We're just really passionate, being a seaside town, about reducing the waste produced by holidaymakers and residents," Ms Tipple said.

Other litter-picking groups and council staff have also been depositing items in the boxes.

The toy library is free to use and volunteers have been checking the items left are in good condition.

The beach toy library was to be extended from three collection boxes to six on the promenade

Alex Porter, from Tendring District Council, said: "This scheme is a great way of making trips to the beach accessible and enjoyable for all, as well as reducing waste by making sure toys such as these are re-used time again.

"This is a fantastic example of the strong community we have in our district, coming together so that everyone can enjoy what our beautiful area has to offer."

Campaigners Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) launched a nationwide clean-up campaign earlier this year, aiming to clear a million miles of the UK's beaches and other outdoor spaces by the end of 2021.

The marine conservation charity said research it had commissioned suggested more than half of 2,000 British adults surveyed had seen more plastic on UK beaches than wildlife.

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