A car door, a bicycle and a plastic bottle washed ashore from Holland were among the more unusual items removed from Nicholson's Strand, Kilkeel during a recent litter pick organised by TIDY Northern Ireland.

Local volunteers, supplied with a skip and litter picking equipment from Newry and Mourne District Council and refreshments courtesy of Coca Cola, spent almost four hours cleaning up the shoreline. Among ten bins bags full of litter, the group also recovered four car tyres, a fridge, machinery grease from Finland, the remainder of some helium balloons from England, a milk carton from Wales, three different shoes, an unopened bottle of cooking oil, pants, hundreds of plastic bottles and a selection of empty shotgun cartridges.

The picturesque beach is working towards becoming a recipient of TIDY Northern Ireland's new 'Green Coast' award sponsored by Coca Cola Bottlers (Ulster) Ltd. The accolade is presented to rural beaches that are taking positive steps towards improving the coastline of Northern Ireland.

Following the litter pick, Jennifer Smyth, Coastal Officer with TIDY Northern Ireland, called on people to take more pride in their beaches. "A beach polluted with litter does nothing to promote a positive image of the area, and it is great to see the local community making a real effort to restore Nicholson's Strand to its natural state," she said. "There was a substantial amount of litter, but thanks to the hard work of everyone who volunteered their services the beach is now a much more pleasant place to visit. The battle against litter is ongoing however, and it requires the cooperation of everyone using the beach to ensure that it remains clean and tidy. I would appeal to people not to discard their rubbish on the beach, but instead put their waste in an appropriate place and ensure we have a coastline that we can be proud of."

The Clean Coast Programme aims to enhance the value of our coastline by reducing the impact of litter and other environmental damage, restoring the aesthetic appeal and increasing the amenity and economic value to the community and visitors.