Large coils of plastic pipes have washed up on beaches across Wales.
Volunteers at a beach clean-up in Llantwit Major couldn't believe it when they discovered the coils on Sunday morning.
"They were a nightmare to get off the beach, and they have been found on beaches across Wales and in Devon," said Trevor McGarrigle, who runs the volunteer beach cleaning group made up of 34 people.
"Llantwit had five coils and locals and volunteers helped to clear them from the beach. I'm always concerned about plastic in our oceans so I was shocked when we found these.
"They have been found on all beaches from Barry to Devon," added the 39-year-old who lives in Bridgend.
Trevor, who runs the group which is sponsored by SAS International and Fonmon Castle, added that the piping has been found at Rhoose, Barry, St Donats, Southerndown, Ogmore By Sea, Porthcawl, Westward Ho, Saunton, Croyde, Greencliff, Woolacombe and Putsborough.
It turns out that the piping, which was first sighted last Wednesday, was washed up after a container came off a cargo ship in 'storm-force winds', reports DevonLive.
The piping, which belongs to a company called Pipelife, was on a ship travelling from Ireland to Holland.
A spokesman for Pipelife said:"The plastic coils resulted from an accident at sea on in which a container sailing from Ireland to Holland was overboard in gale force winds during Storm Dennis.
"Pipelife has been working closely with the councils concerned to remove these coils.
"We expect further coils from this incident to wash ashore in the coming days and we are deeply grateful to the general public for informing us when they encounter them as this allows us to respond and collect the coils as quickly as possible, with due regard to the safety issues involved."
They added: "Our commitment to reducing plastic waste is a fundamental operating principle of our company and when unforseen accidental incidents occur such as this one, we strive to remedy the situation as quickly as possible.
"I can assure you that any of this lost product washed ashore will be quickly and responsibly collected and recycled."
Llantwit Major Coastguard also discovered the piping at Southerdown Beach in Ogmore.
They said: "Whilst at Southerndown the team came across a number of coils of plastic pipe that had been washed ashore. The coils were placed above the high water mark to be collected for disposal and to prevent any danger to boat users."
