SCOTLAND has the worst record for beach littering in the UK - despite a fall in the amount of shoreline rubbish.

SCOTLAND has the worst record for beach littering in the UK - despite a fall in the amount of shoreline rubbish.

The Marine Conservation Society's Beachwatch survey looked at 374 areas across Britain. In Scotland alone 55,041 items of litter were found on 52 beaches.

The charity said that meant there were 2581.4 items of litter per kilometre of beach surveyed - 5.4% lower than in 2007, but still the worst litter density level in the UK.

There was a total of 385,659 items of rubbish found across the UK as a whole - 2195 items of litter for every kilometre of beach surveyed Public litter was the main source on beaches in Scotland, accounting for 37.5% of all rubbish.

A total of 19.7% was sewage-related debris, making this the second most common source of litter on Scotland's beaches.

And with 509.1 such items per kilometre of beach surveyed, the ratio was more than three times the UK average.

The MCS is calling for the UK and Scottish Governments to develop a marine litter strategy.

Scottish projects officer Anne Saunders said: "This is a man-made problem. We all need to take responsibility."

Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham said litter was a "blight on Scotland's beautiful landscape and clearly a problem which cannot be ignored".