Hundreds of volunteers are being sought to carry out a beach survey and clean-up operation across Sussex.

Beachwatch 2002, organised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), will be held on September 21 and 22.

Helpers will form a line and walk across selected beaches taking a note of the items they collect.

The project coincides with a campaign by The Argus to stop people taking glass bottles onto Brighton beach - see our Local Issues section.

Last year, the Beachwatch campaign collected more than 222,704 items of litter from 194 beaches across the UK.

The major sources of rubbish were recreational beach users, fishermen, sewage outlets and shipping.

The charity said the density of litter on UK beaches had almost doubled since 1993.

Waste such as glass and plastic bags were particularly dangerous to marine life.

In one recent case, a minke whale found stranded in France contained 800g of plastic bags in its stomach.

Society outreach officer Helen Humphries said: "Beachwatch is the ideal way for people to help improve their local beach."

In Sussex, volunteers will be needed to cover beaches at Eastbourne, Newhaven, Goring and Pagham Harbour.

Paul Willis, organiser for Goring, said: "In the past we have had some multinational litter, including contact lens solution from Spain, bean tins from Holland and aerosols from France."

For details, call the MCS on 01989 567807 or email beachwatch@mcsuk.org