I love the sea: Not just being on it and in it, but even the simple pleasures of a gentle stroll beside it.

One of the best things about summer returning to caress our beautiful shores with its warming rays is being able to get back to the beach. what a pity, then, that those sunbeams have to alight so often upon the detritus of last night’s partying, left by louts without a care for anyone else.

I understand that Gyllyngvase Beach, and so many other spots around Cornwall, are perfect for partying, but I don’t understand the inability of so many people to pick up after themselves.

It really is not difficult , once you’ve filled yourself with barbecued food and fizzy pop - or even something a little stronger - to take your now empty containers away with you. It is a much nastier job if left to the next morning and a small band of people faced with a ton of litter. And that’s not even considering the perils of broken glass or a still-hot grill.

Plastic waste, which can take 450 years to break down - is choking our seas, killing turtles and mammals and poisoning our fish, and now it threatens to turn our own lives toxic, not to mention turning off our tourists.

Perhaps now truly is the time to follow Surfers Against Sewage’s lead and demand a return to bottle deposits.

More importantly, now should be the time to take personal responsibility, each for our own mess - and shame on those who don’t.