LAST week’s storms uncovered a petrified forest and a multitude of shipwrecks off the coast at Redcar.

Visitors have been flocking to see them before the sand returns. Another seaside consequence of the wild weather was the layer of dead and dying sea creatures which appeared on many beaches, sparking rescue attempts, and giving onlookers a chance to encounter a vast array of marine life they would never normally see.

The huge public reaction to both stories shows how this island nation remains fascinated by its shoreline.

So we should all be deeply concerned to read that dangerous microplastics carrying carry chemical additives and contaminants have now been found in some of Scotland’s most remote waters, threatening sea birds and fish stocks.

Today, a campaign is being launched calling on the public provide information on beach litter so a computer programme can build an accurate picture of the problem.

All well and good, but this won’t solve the problem of the plastics ending up on beaches and in our seas in the first place.

Inspired by Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet series, Theresa May and Defra Secretary Michael Gove have been talking tough on recycling.

But unless they take meaningful action to force plastics producers – particularly bottle makers – to accept greater responsibility for waste and the cost of recycling, the problem will not be solved, it will simply shift, like the sands, elsewhere.