The beach cleaning charity Beach Buddies has paid tribute to volunteers from the finance sector who have contributed this summer to a landmark moment which will be achieved this weekend.

Teams of volunteers from a number of companies have been involved in tackling the Island’s longest stretch of beach - 21-miles from Glen Mooar to Ramsey - since the spring and will complete the task this weekend when one of its biggest ever teams tackles the final section of coastline polluted by rubbish on the north west of the Island.

Work on the area had to be halted during the early summer, due to this part of the coast being the home for thousands of nesting seabirds, but in recent weeks Beach Buddies’ volunteers have almost completed their objective to remove rubbish which has accumulated in some places for more than 20 years.

“We would not have been able to achieve this without the support of an amazing group of our regular volunteers and the wonderful efforts of several companies in the finance sector,” said Beach Buddies chairman Bill Dale.

“There is a limit to what can be achieved in our weekend sessions, so the contribution by staff who were given time off by their employers during the working week throughout this summer has made a massive difference.”

Teams of volunteers from Pricewaterhouse Cooper, Tower Insurance, the Isle of Man Bank, Lloyds Bank, St Ninian’s Lower School, as well as Guides, Scouts and Cubs, plus a huge world record breaking team from Ramsey Grammar School, have all contributed towards clearing the beaches of more than 1,000 bags of rubbish, weighing several tonnes.

“It has been a brilliant team effort,” added Bill Dale. “We have amazing support across the Island, and this simply could not have happened without all these wonderful people giving up an hour or two of their time to join in and make a difference.

“In particular, I have to say a special thanks to Pricewaterhouse Cooper. For the second year in succession their entire staff came along in teams eight weeks in a row and shifted massive amounts of rubbish, and some particularly huge items, including the enormous buried axle of a truck which local residents say had been there for more than 10 years.

“It shows that the Isle of Man has a lot of people who really care about the environment and wildlife. We have had more than 3,000 different volunteers in the last two and a half years - a figure I thought a few years ago that we would never achieve.

“Plus, we now know there are many hundreds of other people who are going out on their own and collecting rubbish, taking bags and filling the Beach Buddies bins along the northwest coast. This scheme is working fantastically well, and we will be placing more bins all over the Island’s coastline in the next few weeks.”

One of the new bins is at the Ballaghennie Ayres Nature Reserve, and has been sponsored by Blythe Financial, who are backing tomorrow’s special event at the Point of Ayre at 10.30am.

Blythe Financial is owned by husband and wife Alan and Sue Blythe, who are keen walkers in the area with their dogs and are bringing their own team of volunteers to join in the occasion. All volunteers are asked to meet at the Point of Ayre lighthouse and the group will then be split to tackle a section of approximately two miles down towards Ballaghennie.

Afterwards, Beach Buddies and Blythe Financial will celebrate having cleared the final section of this part of the coastline with hot drinks and snacks at the Ayres Nature Reserve.

As well as the event tomorrow at the Point of Ayre, Beach Buddies has another major event on Sunday, for its normal weekend session, when they will join with Braddan Commissioners and Zero Waste Mann, another of the Beach Buddies’ bin sponsors, for a session at Port Soderick as part of the “No Waste in Braddan” campaign.

Beach Buddies has appealed to anyone living in either area to go along and join in either of these events The session starts at 10.30am. At both events Beach Buddies will provide all the necessary equipment and dispose of the materials collected afterwards, recycling where possible, using the Sandy B trailer.

Sponsors who have very generously kept us going include AFD Software, SITA, WDS Limited, DoI, The Scott Trust, the Elizabeth Clucas Trust, the Society for the Preservation of the Manx Countryside, Blythe Financial, Aston International, Charlie’s Mum and Dad, Zero Waste Mann, Andy Kerruish, Lloyds Bank, Bobby Sadler Agricultural and Juan Knight OffRoad.

Bill Dale added, “We have thousands and thousands of great volunteers, who cannot be thanked enough for their wonderful efforts these last few years to transform our beautiful coastline, and thousands more people who perhaps don’t get involved in a practical or financial way, or perhaps aren’t physically able to take part, but who really like what we are trying to do - and we know their hearts are with us.

“There are also the many, many people who don’t join in our organised sessions, but who pick up a bag from one of our Beach Buddies Big Beach Bins, or take their own bags when they go walking, and pick up just a handful of items to “make a difference”. Together, you are all doing a wonderful, wonderful job - keep going, there’s loads more great stuff to come and unlimited ideas. Watch this space!!”