A 40-YEAR-OLD yoghurt pot with Jimmy Savile's fundraising appeal for Stoke Mandeville Hospital has been discovered by litter pickers on a North Yorkshire beach.

The yoghurt pot was found washed up on the beach by volunteers, who also recovered an old Citroen car battery and a lemonade shandy can.

While the disgraced DJ's association with the Stoke hospital dates back to 1969, the North-East coordinator for The Marine Conservation society who led the beach clean on Wednesday, May 12, believes the charity appeal on the side of the SKI yoghurt pot dates back to 1981.

Matt Barnes said: "The finds really show the longevity of materials. We track change over time and the types of litter changes, with plastic appearing after the 60s.

"The oldest thing I have is from the 1890s."

The Northern Echo: A pot with Jimmy Savile’s appeal for Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Picture: SEA CHAMPIONS NORTH EAST

The Marine Conservation Society is a data-led organisation that works with the government to survey beaches to identify trends and problem materials while also working in the community to improve marine literacy.

Its research reveals the national average of litter pieces per 100 meters of coast was 492.6 last year.

The number was significantly higher in the North-East, at 657.8 per 100 meters of coast.

PPE was also found on 27.5 per cent of beaches in 2020, which Mr Barnes says shows a worrying new marine litter addition from the pandemic.

The Northern Echo: A Citroen car battery found washe up on a beach

He said: "North-East beaches are the dirtiest but that litter comes from everywhere, it just washes up to the lowest beach.

"It's also sporadic, Northumberland beaches are very clean but others aren't."

The Marine Conservation Society helped to push through the plastic bag charge in supermarkets, the ban on using plastic on cotton swabs and is currently lobbying to have plastic removed from wet wipes in efforts to make them more sustainable.

It has also been working with politicians on a deposit return scheme to incentivise and encourage recycling.

The scheme would see a levy added to goods that would then be refunded when materials are taken to a recycling point.

But its introduction has been delayed due to Covid.

Mr Barnes said: "We want action quicker. The problem will just persist when items could have been recycled."

If anyone would like to get involved in beach cleans, they can visit the Sea Champions North East Facebook page.