Ship shape on the beach! Kind-hearted staff at CalMac set about cleaning up Lunderston

The 11-strong group of volunteers are all employed at the company's HQ in Gourock and were co-ordinated by organiser Kimberley Stevens from Greenock, who works in the travel trade department.

As part of the Marine Conservation Society's (MCS) Beachwatch campaign, a total of 42kgs of unsightly rubbish was removed from the shore and surrounding area.

Kimberley was interested in doing something for the benefit of the local community and the environment and has now become an MCS registered organiser. The group was also helped along the way by Clydemuirshiel  Estate rangers Mike and John, and spent more than two hours combing the shoreline for litter and disposing of it safely.

"It was a great day with a good turnout," said Kimberley, who has been with CalMac for 16 months. "The weather wasn't great but we cracked on splitting into teams of two or three. After a safety briefing we headed out in our designated areas to start collecting.

"Everyone was in good spirits and I actually had to go round telling everyone to head back to our meeting point, we were enjoying it and put effort in to make sure we were thorough.

"As I am now a registered organiser for MCS, I may organise other events in the future and Mike, the ranger, was telling me of many different schemes we can be involved in, including tree planting etc.

"It is great to think we are helping look after our coastlines and helping preserve our marine life. I'm really thankful to Mike and John for all their help, and also Brian from Inverclyde Council, who arranged gloves, litter-pickers and gloves for us all."