TWO competition winners dined with a celebrity after completing beach litter surveys.
Television impressionist Alistair McGowan asked people to submit their own studies as part of a national beach litter survey led by the Environment Agency.
Of the North-East participants, Debra Wright, 12, from Horden, County Durham, and Anthony Lee, 36, from Peterlee, County Durham, were chosen to have lunch with the entertainer.
During last year and this year, the Environment Agency carried out surveys of beach litter across England and Wales, grading 71 per cent of beaches good this year, compared with 66 per cent last year. In both years, it graded about 20 per cent fair or poor, with five per cent falling in the poor category this year, compared with six per cent last.
The number of very clean beaches fell from 14 per cent in 2001 to 11 per cent this year.
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