Scotland�s coastline is the messiest in the UK with an average of one piece of litter for every 15 inches of beach, according to new figures.

Scotland's coastline is the messiest in the UK with an average of one piece of litter for every 15 inches of beach, according to new figures.

The annual Beachwatch survey, published yesterday by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), found more than 50,000 pieces of litter on Scottish beaches, including plastic bags, fishing nets and broken glass.

While litter levels fell slightly in comparison to 2008, Scotland was still the worst region of the UK in terms of the volume of litter. The level of sewage and sanitary waste on Scottish beaches was more than five times higher than in England and Wales.

Across the UK as a whole, the amount of litter hit its highest level since records began, with the amount of litter found having doubled in the past 15 years.

More than 800 volunteers surveyed 52 beaches in Scotland, ranging from Meal beach in Shetland to Troon in South Ayrshire.

The most common items found in the survey were pieces of plastic and polystyrene, and food packaging such as crisp packets and sweet wrappers. Public waste made up over a third of all litter, with sewage and sanitary waste accounting for almost a fifth.

Other major sources of debris were fishing litter, such as nets and lines (7.9%), and shipping litter, which includes items like oil drums and crates (1.6%).

Among the more unusual pieces of beach litter were traffic cones, a Zimmer frame and some German military clothing.

As well as being costly to clean up, marine litter is often fatal to wildlife such as whales, seabirds and turtles, who mistake it for food and are either poisoned, choked or starved as a result of stomach blockage. According to the MCS, more than 170 species of marine wildlife have perished in this way.

Anne Saunders, Scottish projects officer of the MCS, said a more co-ordinated strategy was needed to tackle the root causes of littering.

She said: "Whether you live near the coast or miles inland, we are all connected to the sea. This is a man-made problem.

"The start of the problem is people in their houses, flushing things down the toilet rather than putting them in the bin.

"Currently there is no government-led body in Scotland to tackle beach litter. We want a co-ordinated strategy to prevent litter getting into the sea in the first place.

"MCS wants to see zero waste on Britain's beaches, and our first goal is to halve the litter on Britain's beaches by 2015.

Ms Saunders said it was usually not possible to name and shame individual beaches, as the amount of litter that washed up was largely dependent on factors such as the weather or the direction of the tide.

However, she highlighted the case of two beaches in the Helensburgh area - East Bay and Clynder - where thousands of used cotton buds were washed up onto the beach, possibly as a result of a faulty sewage filter in the region.

As a result, she said, Scottish Water had spent £6m on updating the sewage infrastructure in the area.

Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham said: "Litter is a blight on Scotland's beautiful landscape and when you consider that our natural environment is worth about £17bn to the economy it's clearly a problem that cannot be ignored.

"We are tackling the litter problem at bathing waters and their beaches, including through our new Scottish Bathing Water Litter Grant Scheme.

"There is always more that can be done, however, and surveys such as Beachwatch are to be welcomed for bringing the issue to the public's attention and encouraging us all to take an active role in contributing to a cleaner, greener, Scotland."