Kingdown Beach Clean 29th March Report

Three community minded villagers were responsible for organising the event, and came down to the beach despite an hour’s less sleep, armed with a gazebo, tables, hot and cold refreshments, and of course litter pickers, gloves and bags which were on loan from DDC.

Despite the damp and windy conditions, 60 or so people of all ages turned up to help collect accumulated rubbish in an area from the sea to the road, and Oldstairs Bay to Boundary Road. The sun came out at one point, but the wind decided to take down the gazebo a little early! Refreshments of teas and coffees were on offer for the volunteers who had braved the elements.

The willing volunteers, who came from Ringwould, Deal, and Bridge among other locations, and of course Kingsdown, offered a few observations on the most common items collected. They had picked up fishing tackle and tangled fishing lines, glass and plastic bottles, the soles of shoes, baby wipes, scraps of material, and many plastic food wrappers. In addition to these items, everyone felt that the campaign saying ‘there is no such thing as the poo fairy’ definitely needs to be repeated.

We finished with about 50 sacks, a lobster pot, a car wheel and a traffic cone, all of which Dover District Council collected after the event.

Thank you again to all those who braved the weather, to the village hall for the loan of the cups, to Mark Thomas for the gazebo, Jane Banks for the camping stove, Helen Williams for the extra rubbish sacks, and to DDC for the loan of the equipment. We hope everyone enjoys our litter free beach now the summer is coming!

Helen Williams, Jane Banks, and Mark Thomas