The Glenelg couple cleaning up after Storm Brendan By Steven McKenzie

BBC Scotland Highlands and Islands reporter Published duration 23 January Related Topics Storm Brendan

image copyright Trish Brewster image caption Yan with some of the material washed up near Glenelg after Storm Brendan

Since moving to Glenelg six years ago, Trish Brewster and her boyfriend Yan Balewicz have been picking up rubbish washing up on their local beach.

Plastic drums, a child's trike and a shopping basket have been among the items they have cleared away.

The items have ended up on Bernera beach, a shoreline on a stretch of water called the Kylerhea Narrows between the west Highlands mainland and the Isle of Skye.

The high winds and rough sea during last week's Storm Brendan has seen the beach inundated with large amounts debris.

Trish and Yan are among hundreds of volunteers around Scotland who take part in organised beach cleans, or do their own personal clean-ups.

image copyright Trish Brewster image caption Trish says fishing gear makes up most of the material that washes up on Bernera beach

image copyright Trish Brewster image caption Trish and Yan's dog with bags of collected rubbish, rope and a large plastic pipe

Trish says the bulk of the items washing up, including before the storm, are pieces of equipment from the fishing and fish farm industries.

"We've been cleaning up after Storm Brendan for five days so far," says Trish, who is accompanied on her beach cleans by Loli Floppy Ears, her 14-year-old dog.

"We've picked up long pieces of plastic pipe and also plastic drums and crates."

image copyright Trish Brewster image caption A plastic box washed up on Bernera beach

Mowi, the owners of fish farms in the area, has offered to place a skip near the beach to help remove the material Trish and Yan have collected.

The company said it was aware of litter that had appeared on beaches after the storm and was "happy to provide assistance in clean-up efforts".

Trish said: "We've been picking up stuff from the beach for six years. We do it to give something back to the community.

"It has got to the point now where I can't just go for a walk on the beach and not pick up rubbish."

image copyright Trish Brewster image caption Trish and Yan started their beach cleans six years ago

image copyright Trish Brewster image caption The couple has spent five days so far clearing up in the wake of Storm Brendan