Volunteers clear 'hazardous' life raft from beach

A life raft, washed up on a Cornish beach last month, has been cleared by a team of local volunteers.

Friends of Portheras Cove (FOPC) said the raft washed ashore on 2 December and had become a hazard to wildlife.

The group said a team of 12 volunteers spent two weeks cutting up the raft and removing it from the beach, near Pendeen in west Cornwall, for safe disposal.

FOPC described the clean-up on social media as "an example of community teamwork".

FOPC said the life raft was initially moved by coastguards to a safe position with a "do not touch" warning while efforts were made to contact the owners.

However, the group added the raft was later "tampered with" and was being used as "a general litter bin".

"The life raft debris was becoming a real danger for both beachgoers and wildlife alike," said FOPC biological scientist Delia Webb.

"The risk of entanglements for seals and seabirds was particularly worrying and so local volunteers banded together to solve the problem themselves."

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