Castlerock beach clean up by community volunteers

Despite the dreadful weather conditions, 17 hardy members of Castlerock Community Association and a volunteer from nearby Coleraine spent Wednesday morning clearing up the damage caused to the town’s beach by Storms Dudley and Franklin.
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Many of the beach’s boardwalk planks onto the beach and the divider posts to the left of the main entrance had been ripped by the storm and were scattered along the beach.

Following the clean-up, a post on the association’s social media said: “​​A massive thank you to the 18 volunteers including a gentleman from Coleraine who turned up this morning to clear up the wood planks from the beach boardwalks and posts plus a litter pick along part of the beach. The weather was horrendous but the spirits were high.

“Mark Strong from the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council was assisting with the clear-up and advised that council staff would be collecting the wood from the boardwalks hopefully this afternoon.

“Thank you to all the volunteers for making a difference and showing you care.”

Thanking the volunteers for their work, local MLA Claire Sugden said: “This was a huge job in this area after the storms.”

A council statement said: “We want to thank the willing volunteers who took part in a clean-up operation this morning at Castlerock beach.

“The beach, dunes and boardwalk area were all badly affected by the recent storms.

“Despite the continued inclement weather, our Coast and Countryside team is very grateful to those who turned up today to help.

“The collected rubbish will be disposed of by our Operations team, and the salvaged wooden posts will be collected for storage by Estates for future re-use.

“Well done to Castlerock Community Association and everyone involved.

“Further weather warnings are in place and we urge everyone to take care, especially around our coastline, at this time.”