VISITORS to Burnham-on-Sea's Bay Centre are being urged to put their rubbish in the bin after large amounts of litter appeared outside the centre.

The centre, which hosts more than 20 groups and clubs in the area, has seen a vast amount of discarded litter dumped outside it in recent weeks.

Organisers of The Youth Zone, a group for young people which runs out of the Bay Centre, decided to take action and grabbed their litter pickers to clean up the rubbish.

Elise De Viell from The Youth Zone, said: "We don't like to see the area looking messy as we take pride in our club, surroundings and the Bay Centre.

"Because of this the volunteers and young people decided to complete a litter pick.

"We filled up two bin bags of rubbish, most of which was empty plastic drinks bottles, none of which we sell in our tuck shop, which were then recycled.

"We took the opportunity to speak to our young people about waste management and to continue to promote the club in a positive light.

"We are doing our bit and will continue to urge others that use the free facilities to dispose of their rubbish in the bins around the site.

"There is a bin in the courts, so no need for littering at all."

Members of the youth group said they only found out about the littering last week and want to make sure the issue is quickly resolved.

Elise added: "Over the last few months we have all worked tremendously hard to raise the profile of the club and to ensure that our members are treating the facilities, outside areas and most importantly each other with respect.

"We would hate for our good reputation to be tarnished.

"We as a group use the facilities for just two hours per week, however they are unlocked 24/7 and large groups of young people can often be seen in the courts, as well as families during evenings and weekends.

"It is very kind of the Bay Centre to keep the facilities open for the general public to use and we would hate to see them locked and only opened when groups book out the centre."