Patrick and his owner at work during the clean-up

Dogged determination by volunteers saw one of Britain’s most remote beaches restored to pristine condition after the collection of masses of marine debris.

Four-legged helper Patrick joined 19 volunteers in the clean-up of Sandwood Bay in the far North of Scotland over the weekend.

The exercise, organised by the site’s owners the John Muir Trust, produced 20 bags of rubbish ranging from discarded fishing nets and rope to plastic debris.

The beach, renowned for its unspoilt beauty, is 6km (4 miles) from the nearest road. The collected rubbish was carried back to the road by an all-terrain vehicle during the Easter weekend clean-up, the first since March last year.

Canine volunteer Patrick helped by dragging some of the rubbish back along the beach.

Volunteers at Sandwood Bay with the collected rubbish

Sandy Maxwell, conservation activities co-ordinator with the John Muir Trust, said, “Our volunteers carry out at least one clean up a year at Sandwood. As the beach is over a mile long it can take a bit of effort to keep it clear.

“Although the majority of visitors to the bay seem to be good at taking their litter away with them, there’s still a real problem with marine litter washing in from the Minch.”

The work at Sandwood Bay over Easter coincided with Keep Scotland Beautiful’s National Spring Clean 2011, an annual campaign that runs to encourage litter prevention and clean-up.