Dentures are just one of thousands of pieces of rubbish found on Sussex beaches, which are blighted by almost double the national average amount of waste.

According to the Marine Conservation Society (MSC), which ran the Beachwatch Big Weekend cleanup operation, East Sussex has an average of 4,037 items of rubbish per kilometre on its beaches – nearly twice the national average.

On one East Sussex beach a pair of dentures washed up in the surf, while a brass candlestick was found on a shoreline in West Sussex.

The figure in East Sussex is 73% higher than it was during last year’s campaign by the Marine Conservation Society and is 76% higher than the national average – which is 2,296 items per km.

The number is also 66% higher than the average for the South East. Rottingdean Beach had a total of 2,548 items cleared by a team of 19 volunteer cleaners.

West Sussex only had 1,130 items per km according the study.

Cobnor Foreshore was the beach with the highest amount of rubbish removed with 1,205 items, while Ferring only had 93 items.

Lou McCurdy, of the dirty beach supermarket art installation, which was made out of waste collected from Brighton beach, said: “Imagine how much worse it will be next time after all the storms we have had which washed all the rubbish into the sea.

“We throwthings away – but we never think about where away actually is.

“Everything that goes into the sea eventually comes back.”

The cleanup was carried out by volunteers in September last year on the 20th anniversary of the MSC’s Beachwatch Campaign.

This year matched their annual upward trend and was the most rubbish volunteers have ever collected from beaches.

Lauren Eyles, MCS Beachwatch Officer, said: “This is a disgusting tide of litter which is threatening the safety of beach visitors both human and animal.

“It’s coming in from the sea, being blown from the land or simply being dumped and dropped.

“After 20 years of campaigning it’s disheartening that in 2013 we are seeing worse litter levels than ever.”