VOLUNTEERS are being urged to come forward and help clean a Teesside beach this weekend.

Organisers hope people will turn out in force to remove litter and clean up the sand at Seaton Carew.

It is being organised by Keeley Metcalfe, Hartlepool Council's Pride in Hartlepool officer, as part of the Marine Conservation Society's (MCS) annual beach watch initiative.

Anyone wishing to take part is asked to meet at the coach park from 10am on Saturday. The clean-up will last until noon.

Rubbish sacks and some litter pickers will be provided. The amount and type of litter collected will be recorded, and details sent to the MCS.

Miss Metcalfe said: "We had between 30 and 40 volunteers for a similar event last year, and we hope to exceed that figure this year. I'd urge anyone with an interest in the environment to come down to Seaton Carew and lend a hand."

For further information, call 01429-284172.

In addition, Operation Clean Sweep will run along the seafront at Seaton Carew by Hartlepool Borough Council, from Monday to Friday, September 21.

Operation Clean Sweep, which was launched in December 2003 by Mayor Stuart Drummond, sees the council work with a range of partner organisations to concentrate resources in a particular area of town, usually for about a week.

In a change of format, there will be three separate Operation Clean Sweep initiatives - one each for the north, centre and south of the town. Each will focus on one of three major themes for a year: environmental improvements, highways improvements or community safety.