A HELENSBURGH woman has taken matters into her own hands to deal with the “disgraceful plastic pollution on our doorstep” by starting a solo beach clean.

Rhiannon May is organising the clean-ups at Rhu Marina every day this week after being dismayed at the sight of litter strewn across the area’s foreshores.

Despite a social media appeal for other volunteers, Rhiannon has so far been left short of offers of support, but she has not let that stop her as she bids to beat the plastic blight.

She said: “I walked with my two children to Rhu Marina from our house recently and passed the two strips of beach either side of the [Ministry of Defence] off-site centre.

“I was shocked at how much plastic and litter was washed up on the beach.

“I took to Facebook to ask for helpers. Unfortunately no one was available, so I went down there on my own to make a start on collecting the rubbish.

“My plan is to go down to the beach every morning and pick up what I can, with others coming to help as and when they can.

“I don’t want to delay the clean-up just because I don’t have a big group of people to help.”

The Advertiser has recently reported on Garelochhead resident Alistair McIntyre’s calls for a more proactive approach to beach cleaning, while last week we also told how beaches at Arrochar and Garelochhead remain among the most polluted in Scotland.

Rhiannon feels strongly that more must be done to tackle the waste problem and is happy to do her bit in encouraging community action.

She added: “We are taking the beach litter back to our house and sorting it from there. If we could find a plastic recycling factory or similar who can take it off our hands that would be great.

“One local lady spotted me down at the beach and asked if she could join me.

“It is incredibly difficult to pick up all the small pieces of plastic. the most common items are micro plastics, cotton buds and bottle lids. This is a beautiful area and it is sad our shorelines are left in such a state.”