Supermarket staff in Blackpool beach clean

Staff from Blackpool’s Morrisons were joined by head office workers from Bradford on the sands near the Sea Life Centre.

Aquarists from the attraction gave a Blue Planet II-style presentation on the impact of plastic pollution on marine life, as well as other threats, such as intensive fishing and habitat destruction.

The supermarket team then took part in a big beach clean, helped by the aquarists, as part of the company’s commitment to continue to do more to eradicate plastic packaging from their business wherever possible.

Morrisons Blackpool store manager, Marc Gordon, said: “As a business we are committed to reducing the use of plastics and to helping our shoppers and colleagues to do the same.

“It has been great to have the opportunity to lend a hand and to learn more about marine conservation and initiatives taking place to protect and conserve endangered species. We’re grateful to the team from Sea Life Blackpool, who gave an excellent presentation which gave us an even deeper insight into ocean conservation.”

Before the beach clean, the store workers had a guided tour around the seafront aquarium. This included learning more about Lulu, the 79-year-old giant sea turtle, sharks, stingrays, and six-month-old Ariel, the first baby blacktip shark born in the UK.

Matthew Titherington, general manager at Sea Life Blackpool, said: “We were delighted to host the team from Morrisons, who were great company and did a fantastic job on the beach.”