TWENTY bags of rubbish were collected in just 90 minutes during a beach clean near Torness Power Station.

Staff from the environmental safety and quality management groups at the nuclear power station spent the morning picking up litter at Thorntonloch beach.

Joined by the station’s wildlife manager, the team collected nets, plastic bottles, polystyrene foam, textiles, tyres, lobster traps, metal and rope.

Heather Gore and Clare Galloway, environmental safety engineers, arranged the beach clean.

Clare said: “It was great to see staff volunteer to help but disheartening to see the volume of rubbish collected on such a beautiful strip of coastline in such a short amount of time.

“The litter we collected had the potential to cause harm to marine life.

“Hopefully, by removing it we will help to improve the health of the local ecosystem and create a more pleasant local environment for all beach users.”

READ MORE: Call for new nuclear power station at Torness made at Holyrood

Thorntonloch, which is just a short walk from the power station, is a popular beach used for fishing, surfing and spotting wildlife.

From the beach, members of the public can access the John Muir Link, which runs from Dunbar to Cockburnspath, and see many fascinating geological features, such as the sandstone arches and waterfall at Bilsdean.

The beach cleaning work was carried out through EDF Energy’s ‘Helping Hands’ scheme, which allows staff to take two paid days off a year to help out in the local community or an environmental cause.