Kent's beaches are among the most litter-strewn in England, a report out today's revealed.

Last year a total of 3,888 items were collected per kilometre of Kent's coastline in the most recent Beachwatch Big Weekend, according to the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

That compares with 3,399 per kilometre in 2011. But in that year double the number of beaches were cleared in the annual pick-up event.

Shakespeare Beach saw the highest number of bags collected last year - with 68 - but it also had the most volunteers.

In comparison with the rest of England, Kent's beaches ranked fourth for the number of items collected (9,293), and sixth for the number of items per kilometre.

But the report reveals nationally there has been an increase in the amount of plastic rubbish dropped on our coastlines, with an astonishing 75 plastic drinks bottles dumper for every kilometre surveyed.

There's also been a rise in personal litter, such as sweet wrappers, lolly sticks and cigarette stubs discarded on our shores.

Lauren Eyles, MCS beachwatch officer, said the continued rise in beach litter was worrying, but the fact much of it is plastic and unlikely to break down is even more concerning.

She said: "As we continue to rembrace the concept of a throwaway society it's no surprise that plastic dominates the litter we find.

"Over the last few years we have seen a drop in the number of cigarette butts we've found on our beaches, but this year that trend has totally reversed."

She said the amount of litter items dropped per kilometre had risen sharply, and was at its highest since 2008. It now stood at an average of just over 2,000 pieces of litter per kilometre. But even that was almost half that found in our county.