Rosie Linane, 5, with some of the empty bottles which she and her father, James, collected from Cobo on Sunday afternoon when they went for a walk. (Picture by James Linane, 0581556)
JAMES LINANE and daughter Rosie took matters into their own hands when they saw the state of Cobo beach on Sunday afternoon.
Mr Linane, 40, and his five-year-old were so worried about the amount of glass and litter on the popular west-coast beach, that they collected it and took it to the recycling bins.
They were alerted to the problem by a pile of glass bottles at the bottom of the slipway. ‘Some of them were broken so we decided to pick them up. It’s easier to pick up a whole bottle than try and get the glass out of their feet later,’ said Mr Linane.
As they carried on, they found dozens of beer cans and both glass and plastic bottles strewn along the sand.
They went to the shop to ask for carrier bags in which to collect the rubbish.
‘As we went along the beach, there was more and more. We decided to concentrate on the glass, because there was so much to carry,’ he said.
Cobo is a family favourite with the Linane family, but he said banning drinking there was not the answer.
‘One of the things with Guernsey is that we can go to the beach and have a couple of beers or a glass of wine, but you have to clear up afterwards,’ he said.
He said it would also be difficult to enforce. Mr Linane’s daughter, who has participated in Beachwatch clear-ups, was keen to tidy up her favourite beach – even though it was not her mess.
‘Rosie plays there in the summer. She was happy to be keeping it clean,’ he said.
Mr Linane said it was the minority who were going to spoil it for the majority.
‘Legislation is not the answer, it’s education. If a five-year-old girl can be responsible, then there is no excuse.’
n Rockmount Hotel proprietor David Nussbaumer declined to comment at this time.
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