BEACH litter from up to half a century ago has surfaced in some storm-damaged sand dunes in Pembrokeshire.

A Nivea sun cream tube dating from the 1960s, a crisp packet and a Corona lemonade can from the 1970s and a 1984 Pepsi Cola can were found by schoolchildren on a Tenby beach clean.

The youngsters, from Tenby Church in Wales VC Primary School, were out and about on the South Beach with the Darwin Centre's Marten Lewis in the wake of last week's ex-hurricane Ophelia.

They filled 10 bin bags with plastic debris brought in by the storm, and discovered the historic picnic litter in the sand dunes, which had been torn up by the waves and winds.

Said Marten: "The children were amazed at the finds, and it helped them to get a real sense of how long plastic and metal litter can survive in the environment and to understand the massive problem we have with marine litter."

It is estimated that around three million pieces of plastic enter the sea every day worldwide, breaking down into tiny pieces and eaten by creatures at the start of the marine food chain.

Recent reports suggest that by 2050, there will be more pieces of plastic in the ocean than fish.

Added Marten: "The pupils did a great job collecting 10 bags of rubbish which would otherwise be floating off into the sea, causing all manner of environmental problems. I would like to thank Tenby VC School and our sponsors, Dragon LNG, for supporting our education programme."