GOING to the gym isn’t for everyone – but would you ever dump your exercise mat into the river just to get out of it?

Probably not – yet this is one of the many bizarre items to have washed up on  Hale Shore; along with a headboard, a doll, a scooter and a chair – turning a former tourist attraction on the River Mersey coastline  into a “toxic wasteland.”

Shocking photos reveal Oglet Beach – known famously as one of Paul McCartney’s favourite childhood jaunts – swamped in endless piles of waste including plastic bottles, cans, household items and tyres.

Residents cleared an astounding ten tonnes of rubbish from the Hale Village beach on Sunday in an annual community clear-up.

Other items found in the rubble include a rucksack, a toy truck, paint cannisters and a lone trainer, prompting one resident to describe it as a “toxic wasteland.”

Residents said that in previous years a seal, horse bones and a wheelie bin from Manchester have washed up on the shore, but said the amount of waste they find is getting higher each year. 

Liz Kelly-Hines, who has been organising regular shore clean-ups for over four years, said: “It has definitely gotten worse.

“More is being tipped out of the sea. A lot of the items are being tipped straight off the ships  and coming in from the tides.”

Plastic containers and building materials were one of the main sources of pollution found on the beach, but several personal items from clothing to furniture could be spotted amongst the rubbish too.

Community volunteer Luke Trevaskis said: “People are careless and irresponsible. If they dump things, they don’t actually realise the damage that it causes and exactly where it is going to go.

“I don’t know if people think all of this plastic just dissolves when they throw it in the river but it’s obviously going to go somewhere and ruin an environment in doing so.

“Unless it happens in their back garden people aren’t bothered.  It’s out of sight, out of mind. I think education and awareness raising is really needed.”

Over 50 residents turned up to the clean the beach on Saturday, working for a staggering 8-9 hours and filling hundreds of bags of debris for Halton Council to dispose of.

Luke, who is a member of Hale Parish Council,  described the clean up as part of the “fabric of our community”, and said it gave people a chance to come together whilst doing something positive for the environment, wildlife and tourism.

Liz Kelly-Hines added: “If we leave it as it is, it’s a danger to wildlife and a danger to people who want to come down here and enjoy the scenery or walk their dogs. It’s spoiling a beautiful environment, and we want to improve  it.”

“However, how you solve it in the long-term is a big question because it’s a problem world-wide.”

Each year more than 300 million tons of plastic is produced globally, 10 per cent of which will end up in the sea.

In December 2017,  David Attenborough warned that the oceans were becoming a “toxic soup”of industrial waste that posed a risk to humanity, prompting global concern as to how to tackle the problem of plastic in the ocean.