A BRIDGWATER couple who won £1.8million on the National Lottery have taken part in a litter pick on a popular Cornish beach.

Dione and Richard Buss, who scooped the jackpot in 2013, were among nine volunteers who braved heavy rain and the threat of lightening to clear the rubbish in Bude.

The project, run by National Lottery-funded The 2 Minute Foundation, was in response to one of Cornwall’s busiest summers on record, with an extra 30,000 visitors compared to usual years.

The huge influx of holidaymakers led to a significant increase in litter on beaches, with disposable barbeques and broken bottles particularly prevalent.

Dione, Richard and their fellow Lottery winners collected micro plastics, rope, barbed wire and hundreds of small plastic nurdles.

Dione said: “We jumped at the opportunity to help with the beach clean.

"We are passionate about being environmentally friendly.

"However, when we arrived, I was expecting to be looking out for cans and crisp packets, not these tiny pieces of plastic.

"I think it is now going to become an obsession.

"It was so satisfying and I will be taking a litter picker and bag out with me on every dog walk from now on.

"Learning about how dangerous nurdles are and how to spot them has been a real eye opener."

The 2 Minute Foundation, which received £19,410 of National Lottery funding, aims to educate people about the coastline, the creatures that inhabit it and what can be done to protect it.

Claire Giner, from the foundation, said: “The 2 Minute Foundation is a registered charity which is devoted to cleaning up our planet two minutes at a time.

"We believe that simple, achievable acts can add up to make a great difference.

"If a group of people as passionate about the environment as these winners doesn’t know much about nurdles and the damage that they can do, it shows we need to go much further in educating people.

"In a few hours, we collected hundreds of nurdles, and each one collected and recycled is one less causing damage to marine life.

"It’s amazing what can be achieved when we just take two minutes, or even two hours, to help our environment - and you don’t need to be a millionaire to do that."