A gigantic piece of carpet - of all things - became the focus of attention when Beach Buddies' volunteers tackled Sartfield beach at Jurby at the weekend.

The carpet was found north of the Sartfield slipway, and initially it looked like an impossible task as it was buried deep into the sand. But Beach Buddies volunteers don't give up easily!

Beach Buddies founder Bill Dale said, "After loads of really hard graft, the carpet was eventually pulled out of the sand. But that was just the start of the hard work - it then had to be pulled back along the beach and up the really steep slipway at the Sartfield access.

"Anyone who has ever had to man-handle carpet will know that it's no easy task, but imagine how much more difficult this was when the carpet was soaking wet having spent who knows how long buried in the sand.

"It took a big team just to get the carpet out of the sand, and then an even bigger team to drag it back along the beach. A truly tough job - every single person should be thanked for their fantastic efforts."

The 26 volunteers who joined the session also shifted massive amounts of other rubbish from the beach, and it's clear that Beach Buddies will need to return to this area again at least once more to get the beach into acceptable condition.

It was a memorable session, and the volunteers were afterwards treated to well-earned refreshments in Andreas; a successful after-event occasion which will definitely be repeated when Beach Buddies goes north again.