A NORTH-East town has been awarded the status of being a 'plastic free community'.

The town has been given the accolade by marine conservation charity, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), in recognition of the work it has done to start reducing the impact of single-use plastic on the environment.

Local community group Friends of Redcar, led by Coatham Councillor Carl Quartermain, started the campaign earlier this year after working many years organising beach litter picks in Redcar and recognising the changes required to protect our planet.

Key organisations and businesses in the town got together with the group to raise awareness about minimising the amount of disposable plastics they used.

Councillor Leah Quartermain, who has been an organiser with FRED since 2013 and who spends many hours with volunteers beach cleaning in Redcar, said: “It has taken quite some effort to fulfil all the necessary criteria to achieve this award but it has been very rewarding to work with so many conscientious business owners and schools who truly want to make a difference.

“Redcar... is significantly tackling avoidable single-use plastic by swapping these throw away products with bio-degradable or non-polluting alternatives. There is so much more to do here in our home and across the world."