Weirdest things found washed up on beaches

This bin from Peterborough, nicknamed Pete, travelled 70 miles along the River Nene to Blakeney Point, in Norfolk

Shells, seaweed, and maybe even a starfish - those are the kind of things you'd expect to find at the beach, but what about 200-year-old shoes, broccoli, and old bin called Pete?

Strange as it may sound these are all things that have washed-up on a beach somewhere in England, Wales or Northern Ireland looked after by the National Trust.

We often hear about plastic bags and bottles being found on beaches.

But this list of the 20 most unusual items has been released by the charity, to try and make people more aware of the problems of marine pollution.

The National Trust is hoping the list will help show how far things things can travel once they enter the ocean, with items having come from as far away as Russia, Canada, the Caribbean, and Saudi Arabia.

Other items like the remains of a 1980s picnic, a 1970s bottle opener, old Smarties lids from before 1988, and shoes from the 19th, 20th centuries also remind us of just how long waste can last in the seas.

Here's the full list of items and where they were found.

1. Fly spray from Russia - Orford Ness, Suffolk

2. 'Pete' the council bin from Peterborough - Blakeney Point, Norfolk

3. Remains of a 1980s picnic - Formby, Merseyside

4. Thousands of neon pink detergent bottles - Lizard, Cornwall

5. Nautical-themed Lego from a 1994 spill at Land's End - Whitehaven coast, Cumbria, and beaches in Devon and Cornwall

6. BMW car parts, dog biscuits and oil-covered Mars bars from the MSC Napoli (an old container ship that ran into difficulty in the English Channel) - Branscombe Beach, Devon

7. 19th, 20th and 21st century shoes - Orford Ness, Suffolk

8. Canadian research buoy, still recording temperatures and sending data via satellite - White Park Bay, Northern Ireland

9. Sonar equipment from Texas - Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland

10. Plastic debris covered in goose barnacles, likely from the Caribbean - Brownsea Island, Dorset

11. Piles of broccoli and carrots - Formby, Merseyside

12. Rice cakes, buckets and loose apples - Freshwater West, Pembrokeshire

13. Parts of an old cooking range from 1900s cottages - Roseland Peninsula, Cornwall

14. Aerosol can from Saudi Arabia - Orford Ness, Suffolk

15. 1976 "Claws" crisp packet - Formby, Merseyside

16. Tiny plastic soldiers - Whitehaven coast, Cumbria

17. Smarties lids from the 1980s and before - Whitehaven coast, Cumbria

18. Bottle of rum from America - Formby, Liverpool

19. Mercedes C111 1970s bottle opener - Formby, Liverpool

20. 26 helium balloons - Orford Ness, Suffolk

The National Trust said the problem of pollution continues to blight UK beaches, despite growing public awareness of issues such as single-use plastics ending up in the seas.

The charity is calling on staff, volunteers and the public to take part in beach or river cleans.

Phil Dyke, coastal specialist at the charity, said: "No-one in the UK lives more than 75 miles from the coast, so whether we're in the city or the country, everything we do impacts on the health of our seas.

"Even small actions like using less packaging and picking up litter can make a difference. We've all got a part to play in helping our seas recover."