ABANDONED boats, piles of rubbish and two pairs of wellington boots were cleared from Leigh marshes as part of a community cleanup campaign.

Volunteers from Southend Beachcare Group cleared rubbish off the saltmarsh and sea walls.

The clean up marked World Rivers Day, a joint initiative between Keep Britain Tidy and Anglian Water. It highlights the value of rivers and estuaries around the world.

Robert Martyr, beachcare and rivercare project officer from Keep Britain Tidy said: “Two Tree Island is a superb saltmarsh habitat and an international hub for bird migration, including 1,000 Siberian brent geese.

“Sadly, the saltmarsh is bighted by rubbish.

“Animals can become entrapped and die or become severely injured, they can feed on plastic products by mistake which again can be fatal.

Mr Martyr added: “I have had the pleasure of working with some incredible volunteer groups who pick litter, repair fences, survey wildlife, construct hides, pull up invasive plants, layer hedges, and build boardwalks.”

Barry Jackson, group leader, Southend Beachcare Group: “I am a keen wildlife enthusiast, wildlife photographer and I am the volunteer group leader for Beachcare Southend. I have been coming here for years as it is an amazing site to photograph wildlife and enjoy the salt marsh spectacle.

“Litter is a plague and I wanted make a difference.

Litter is the bane of my life and I am sick of seeing it strewn along our coastline and sick of those who throw their litter into our landscape”