Many hands, and even a set of wings, helped to make light work of rubbish on Alicante’s Postiguet Beach yesterday where locals, visitors and intrepid albatross Wisdom joined the Volvo Ocean Race and Skeleton Sea for the first Community Beach Clean.

It was a successful start at the first of 10 beach cleans that will be carried out across the globe during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 in a bid to raise awareness of the increasing rubbish in the world’s oceans and at beaches.

The beach cleans are part of the Keep the Oceans Clean! campaign, an environmental initiative created by the Volvo Ocean Race and artist collective Skeleton Sea.

Joining Keep the Oceans Clean! campaign were different local and international groups such as members of Alicanre Surf Club (Hugo, Begoña, Hector, Ana and Alex) Cruz Roja, school students, Volvo Ocean Race Staff and even members of CAMPER or the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing Team Director Jamie Boag, we were collecting everything from bottle tops to cigarette butts and plastic bags.

A great afternoon claiming an important message: KEEP THE OCEANS CLEAN!