A sculpture of a life-size seal made out of litter has been unveiled at North Tyneside's coast as part of a new anti-plastics campaign.
The 6ft seal has been created out of plastic bottles, straws, empty food cartons, face coverings and plastic bags - all collected from the coast.
North Tyneside Council says thousands of tonnes of rubbish, including single-use plastics, are cleared from its beaches all-year round.
The sculpture has been installed in front of the Spanish City Dome in Whitley Bay to raise awareness of the issue and help people understand the impact of littering on marine life and the environment.
As part of the campaign, people will be urged to minimise the use of single-use plastics. Water drinking fountains will also be installed along the coast.
The sculpture, which sits on a bed of sand inside a perspex cube, was commissioned by the council and created by artists Beth Huttley and Alex Welch. The piece will tour the coastline, moving to one of six locations every two weeks.
Beth said: "Environmental awareness is such an important topic to raise, and one which we are very passionate about. We hope the seal will draw attention to this issue."
North Tyneside Mayor Norma Redfearn added: "Making sure we have a clean, safe, attractive and sustainable borough is really important to the council and many of our residents and businesses.
"That’s why, back in 2019, we declared a climate emergency in the borough, to ensure we do everything we can to reduce our carbon footprint – and this campaign is another feature of the many ongoing projects for a more sustainable North Tyneside.
"We want to ensure our beautiful borough can be enjoyed and protected for generations to come, but residents and businesses hold the key to our success, and I would really encourage everyone to take action.
"We can all make small changes, such as reusing bottles, to reduce single-use plastics and our impact on the environment."
The council aims to cut its carbon footprint by 50% by 2023.
