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Storms Have Unearthed Time Warp Remains Of Beach Picnic

Storms Have Unearthed Time Warp Remains Of Beach Picnic

It's believed the decades-old find will increase concern for plastic pollution given that the contents are still entirely intact

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

Recent stormy weather has unearthed a time warp 'picnic' consisting of old sweet wrappers, crisp packets and fizzy drink cans at a coastal beauty spot.

The severe winds shifted the sand dunes and dredged up what seems to be the contents of a family picnic from the 1980s at Formby Beach on Merseyside.

The old cans and... is that a Tesco carrier bag we see?
Liverpool Echo

The items include Rileys and Murphys Crisps, Jusoda, Irn Bru and Coke cans and a loaf of white bread wrapper dating from 1983.

It clearly shows the passage of time has not broken down the old litter dumped all those years ago. One crisp packet even had the crisps intact inside.

The discovery was made by local photographer Colin Lane, 49, who was walking his terrier Monty at the time.

The loaf of bread dated 1983.
Liverpool Echo

He explained: "It looks like the storms have shifted the sands and exposed this bag that must have been buried for decades.

"The storms have had a devastating effect for miles along the coast. Sand dunes have completely disappeared."

Twitter users tried to pin down exactly how old the rubbish from this beach picnic could be. I mean, the loaf of bread does have a date on it...

One curious character posted: "Jusoda was a Fruit Juice Soda made by AG Barr (of Irn Bru fame) for two or three years, in the early 1970s.

"Riley's crisps were made in Scunthorpe until the '80s. Its most successful brand was 'Nik-Naks'. The firm - founded by Biff Riley - was eventually sold to Rowntree Macintosh.

"Murphy's Crisps was another brand of Sooner Foods (part of Rowntree MacIntosh), based in Grimsby."

Formby beach.
PA

If we take the use-by date on the loaf of bread - this picnic would be 37 years old. With the plastic packaging not altering much, there are concerns related to plastic pollution.

Plastic litter left in areas, such as beaches, has been blamed for a variety of issues impacting marine animals.

Take this turtle for example. It was washed up on a beach in Florida and found to have 104 pieces of plastic inside its intestines.

A tiny turtle has been found dead with 104 pieces of plastic in its intestines.
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center

The tragic discovery was shared by Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in a Facebook post on Tuesday, which revealed that every dead turtle they had found during 'washback season' had plastic in its intestines.

The post read: "Not such a happy #TurtleTuesday this week. It's washback season at Gumbo Limbo and weak, tiny turtles are washing up along the coastline needing our help.

"Unfortunately, not every washback survives. 100 percent of our washbacks that didn't make it had plastic in their intestinal tracts.

"This turtle, which would fit in the palm of your hand, had eaten 104 pieces of plastic. This is a sad reminder that we all need to do our part to keep our oceans plastic free."

Featured Image Credit: Liverpool Echo

Topics: UK News, Pollution, Interesting