‘There’s no nurdle fairy’: thousands mobilise to clean up plastic spillage in north-east England

Volunteers painstakingly gather plastic pellets washing up on beaches after ship collision on 19 July “You’ve got a local community that really cares about the coastline,” said Alice Laverty, reflecting on the huge army of volunteers who had taken to crisis-hit beaches in north-east England with passion and only the most basic tools. “They’ve all got a dustpan, a brush, a bucket, a kitchen sieve.” On beaches from Cambois in Northumberland to Seaburn on Wearside, up to 2,000 dedicated voluntee...

By Mark Brown North of England correspondent