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A giant whale made from the amount of plastics cast into the sea every second has arrived in Newquay .

The striking sculpture is on a whirlwind tour of the UK to raise awareness of marine litter and the scale of marine littering problems.

Plastic drinks bottles, wrappers and bags are a constant source of litter on our beaches . The whale comes with a warning that if nothing changes, by 2050 the plastic in the sea could weigh more than all the fish.

The Sky Ocean Rescue campaign is behind the tour, which is being supported by the Marine Conservation Society.

The charity's chief executive Sandy Luk said: "Our research repeatedly finds items such as plastic drinks bottles, wrappers and bags on UK beaches. So much of this has been used just once and thrown away."

According to the charity's research, two thirds of people would be willing to see charges similar to the 5p plastic bag levy applied to other single-use plastics such as bottles, cups and straws.

Almost nine out of 10 (87%) were concerned by the UK's use of plastics, a poll of more than 2,000 people for Sky Ocean Rescue by FlyResearch found.

Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and model Jodie Kidd helped reveal the 10 metre (33ft) creation in London.

The tour will give members of the public easy tips on how to tackle the plastic waste problem, from using a refillable plastic bottle to saying no to straws and plastic bags.

Researchers have estimated that eight million tonnes of plastic pollution enters the ocean globally every year.

Sir Ranulph said: "I've explored some of the most remote and vast points of the world and yet still witnessed the reach of ocean pollution.

"Between 1979 and 1982 my team completed the first surface circumpolar navigation of Earth and during both the Atlantic and the Pacific voyages we witnessed the amount of pollution, much of which was plastic and that was just on the surface.

"It is vital that we all take action to protect our oceans and we must act now before the scale of this problem heightens further."

Kidd said: "There is nothing I enjoy more than being on or by the water - sailing, rowing, on holiday – and it terrifies me that our beautiful oceans are being destroyed.

"As a mother I want my son to grow up in a world where oceans are vast and beautiful, not damaged and under threat.

"It is vital that we all make changes, even in the smallest of ways, to help save our oceans."

A small charge on packaging items and deposit return schemes could help tackle the problem, she said.

Group chief executive of Sky, Jeremy Darroch, said the company was committed to encouraging people to change the way they consume single-use plastics, to protect the oceans.

"Research tells us that almost 90% of Brits are also concerned with plastic usage in the UK.

"Through the Plastic Whale Tour, we want to highlight how easy it is to make small changes that can have a real and measurable impact."