Sir,

These photographs of Freshwater East beach were taken last week.

One shows the ugly spread of litter scattered through the seaweed on the tide-line.

This was the sight which greeted visitors during half-term week.

The other shows a sample of the smaller items collected in a 15-minute walk along the beach to illustrate the variety of items washed ashore - they include disposable lighters, bottle tops, sewage related plastic, shoes, toys and fishermen's rope.

The county council has a statutory duty to clean the strandline along all our beaches throughout the year - not just in the summer.

Yet, between October and April, only one person is employed to do this work.

His area covers the 15 or so beaches between Amroth and Angle.

There is no strategy in place to help this individual with a team when an easterly storm causes intense littering.

As a result, the litter remains in place for weeks at a time, being gradually spread around by wind and tide so that it pollutes both marine life and the dunes or rocky foreshore.

Many beach walkers clean litter on their daily walks and there are a lot of volunteers with whom the council could work, as evidenced by the numerous Coastcare groups.

However, this goodwill wears thin when the council fails to respond to requests for assistance.

Volunteers cannot be expected to do the council's job when the items washed up are too heavy or too numerous to collect on a casual basis.

What is needed is a clear plan of action each time the winter storms inundate our beaches.

If the council put in place the flexibility to make beach vehicles available as and when needed, and if it kept an up to date note of the contact numbers of representatives of volunteer groups in each community, it should not be difficult to arrange clean-ups at short notice.

Failure to improve is detrimental both to the environment and to the county's tourism.

This is a plea to those with the power to put things right to pull their socks up and be proactive rather than reactive.

V. Tomlinson,

Sunbeam,

Freshwater East.

FOOTNOTE: When we contacted Pembrokeshire County Council about the matter, we were told: "Freshwater East Beach is classified as an amenity beach using the 2006 Code of Practice. This code embodies the principles of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

"An amenity beach is one which attracts a substantial number of bathers or beach users. The code stipulates that the principle litter authority must ensure the amenity beaches are kept clear of all types of litter and refuse between May 1 and September 30.

"To comply with the act and code, this beach is subject to a regular clean within the defined period and a daily clean within the holiday period (school summer holidays).

"Outside the defined period we periodically inspect the beach - such as prior to the Easter holidays - and arrange clean-ups as required.

"The Coastcare Group - a group which also undertakes various environmental functions on the beach - and Keep Wales Tidy work closely with the County Council to ensure beach cleanliness is maintained and improved."