THE Rampion wind farm has announced it will carry out a full beach clean after plastic castings have washed ashore on Lancing beach

The refuse, noticed by beachgoers on Monday morning, has been confirmed by the wind farm’s owners as having originated from the offshore development.

The refuse is largely made up of long thin black plastic coiled strips, as well as some larger objects.

A Rampion spokeswoman said: “We’re aware that plastic remnants have been found on Lancing Beach

“These were inadvertently left behind after plastic ducting was assembled, and are now being removed as a priority.

“This was an oversight and we apologise for it. We take our responsibility seriously and we will be arranging for a full filter of the shingle in this area to ensure that the smallest plastic fragments are now collected and disposed of appropriately.

“This matter will be fully investigated with our contractors carrying out this work.”

Brighton residents also reported that the windfarm did not appear to be in operation this weekend, as no turbines were spinning over

However, the Rampion spokeswoman explained that this was because of routine electrical maintenance and not, as had been rumoured, due to a fault with the cables which would require them to be dug up and replaced in their entirety.

She said: “At Rampion we continue to complete final construction activities both offshore and onshore, which includes testing the electrical infrastructure of the wind farm, meaning turbines may not be constantly in operation.

“While we have experienced low wind speeds over recent hot summer days, the site continues to deliver power to the grid.”

The spokeswoman said that all 116 turbines are now able to generate power.

She added: “The wind farm remains on schedule to be completed and fully operational later this year.”

Adur and Worthing councillor Pat Beresford, in whose ward some of the debris was found, said: “If this plastic does really come from the wind farm then I think they should clean it up, and it’s good they’ve said they will.

“But this represents a drop in the ocean compared to all the positive work the project is doing for helping to reduce carbon emissions into our environment.

“There can be no equation between a few bits of plastic and all the energy produced by those turbines.

“I would much rather a wind farm in our town than a power station.”