A holidaymaker is aiming to make his favourite summer destination spotless by encouraging residents and visitors to take up a new beach cleaning initiative.

Adrian Wilkes has been visiting Branscombe for 20 years and hopes to keep the village he loves tidy by backing the Two Minute Beach Clean.

He contacted the not-for-profit organisation to see how he could help and has now sponsored a board for the beach, which comes with plastic bags and litter-pickers for visitors to use.

The 59-year-old, from London, said: “It’s amazing what you can pick up in two minutes. It’s a great idea and a very good initiative. If you only spend two minutes every time you go to the beach, it would make a remarkable change.”

The board, which has been in place since Easter, is being maintained by the Sellick family, which owns the car park and Sea Shanty Holiday Park.

On his love of Branscombe, Adrian said: “I like the amazing views - it’s quite quiet and secluded and it’s not developed unlike Sidmouth, Seaton or Lyme Regis, all of which are nice. It’s the character of Branscombe because it’s off the beaten track.”

Adrian acted as an environmental lobbyist for 30 years and is keen to promote the scheme to all beaches in the UK, following his experiences abroad in Rio and Spain.

To combat the mess, Adrian picks up rubbish, which has been left behind or washed in from the sea, as he goes along.

He said: “It’s mainly plastics, which can survive for thousands of years.

“What I would like to see is all seaside local authorities putting up notice boards encouraging people to tidy up.”

On his most recent visit to Branscombe, Adrian spotted children doing their bit for the environment.

He said: “It has become like bit of a game to walk along the beach and pick up the most rubbish.”