LONDON -- Thousands of pink bottles full of detergent have washed up on picturesque beaches in Cornwall.
The National Trust is leading the clean-up effort around Poldhu Cove with teams of volunteers removing the bottles, believed to be filled with stain remover, from beaches. More bottles have been spotted further out to sea.
Cornwall Council said Monday that it was aware of the bottles and was monitoring the situation together with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and Natural England.
In the pink is not what we want on our beach! These are full and a potential danger to wildlife. pic.twitter.com/rX3NSvJI2Q— Poldhu Beach Watcher (@friendsofpoldhu) January 4, 2016
A photo posted by POLDHU BEACH CAFE (@poldhu) on Jan 4, 2016 at 6:27am PST
"The public are advised to keep children and dogs at a safe distance from the bottles should any more be washed up," the council said in a statement on its website. "No attempt should be made to recover the bottles."
Eyewitnesses were still tweeting photos on Tuesday of bottles on beaches in the area.
And still they come spreading thoughout Mounts Bay now. Clean up Poldhu from lunch time. If u can come about 12:00 pic.twitter.com/vHuPv8iapv— Poldhu Beach Watcher (@friendsofpoldhu) January 5, 2016
The bottles may have fallen from a container ship transporting them as there are busy shipping lanes in the area.
"Quite often they fall off, sink to the bottom of the sea and then they might lie there for months before a storm breaks them open," Justin Whitehouse, the National Trust's lead ranger for South West Cornwall, told BBC 4's Today programme on Tuesday.
First batch of pink bottles collected from Poldhu; 2000+ and counting. @WMNNews @mcsuk @SWCornwallNT pic.twitter.com/THtqJdZdJX— Lizard NT (@LizardNT) January 4, 2016
Cornwall was battered by Storm Frank last week as high tide and high winds battered the country days after Christmas.