When a young man from Norfolk organised a beach clean up with five friends he had no idea he was kick-starting a global movement to tackle plastic that would take him all the way back to his home town.

Daniel Reynolds, 25, grew up in Attleborough and was inspired to launch anti-plastic project Pure Clean Earth while working in Barcelona earlier this year.

Having spent the day fighting a losing a battle to find a litter free spot on a local beach, the then hostel manager said he was compelled to act.

3,805 tonnes of litter later, Mr Reynolds returned to Attleborough, determined to set up a Norfolk 'trash tribe' and clean up his beloved home county.

Twelve keen litter busters travelled from as far as Birmingham to join the Attleborough clean-up, armed with litter-pick equipment from Breckland council and reusable bags and clearing a total of 15kg.

At the end of the clean up the trash tribe take part in what Mr Reynolds calls a 'trash dump', tipping all the rubbish collected in a pile to understand the scale of the litter problem.

Mr Reynolds said as well as nurturing the natural world, the events were a way of cutting through the 'doom and gloom' of modern environmentalism.

He said: 'I want everyone to feel inspired and encouraged and from that start thinking about plastic and the environment.

'Everything we do is positive, smiles, fun and silly dancing because when you start the journey with positivity it gives you the energy to get things done. It's always better to start with positivity when you're making a long term change.'

Following the success of the first Attleborough cleanup, the Pure Clean Earth founder said Sunday events would continue to run in the town and he hoped more people would join the tribe week on week.

Breckland councillor Paul Claussen said the council was delighted the group had launched in the town.

He said: 'Tackling litter, especially plastics, in our local community is essential to a better, cleaner environment for us all to enjoy.'

The next Trash Tribe clean up will meet in Queen's Square at 11am on Sunday, December 2.

For more information visit the Pure Clean Earth Facebook page.