HARDY volunteers braved icy easterly winds for a popular Easter tradition to ensure a stretch of coastline remains in tip top condition.

Around 40 bags of rubbish were collected along Thorpeness beach yesterday. The clean up is a popular Good Friday tradition and attracted around 80 volunteers, including a number of families.

Organiser Bill Crow was delighted with the turnout.

“I really can’t thank people enough,” he said. “It went incredibly well. There was glorious sunshine but the conditions were quite difficult. We were working in an easterly wind and there was a very high tide which made it tricky. There was nothing out of the ordinary found but the beach was in a shocking state. Because of the easterly winds there was a huge amount of rubbish coming in from ships out to sea.”

Mr Crow said the clean up was a great family event and they encouraged children to make up stories about the litter they found, with the most creative winning a prize.

“One family has been coming for five years,” he said. “They book their holiday around it. So many people say it’s a great way to start Easter. It’s very humbling.

“We just aim for people to have as much fun as possible.”

Mr Crow also paid tribute to Suffolk Coastal District Council, which provided all the equipment for the clean up, and The Dolphin Inn, where volunteers gathered afterwards for wine and cheese.