Hospital bags litter Gower coast

The saline bags are sealed and have never been used

Hundreds of saline bags used for hospital drips are being washed up on beaches on Gower.

The debris, thought to have come from a ship's container lost at sea off the Isles of Scilly last year, has sparked a big clean-up operation.

Several beaches - including Oxwich, which has been voted one of the most beautiful in the world - are affected.

The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) said they were safe, but anyone who found one should not pick it up.

It is understood as many as 40,000 could have been in the container that was washed off the ship in December.

The bags have been washed up on beaches in Cornwall too.

CCW said Rhosilli was one of the worst hit beaches on Gower, along with Whitford, where they found hundreds of bags.

The Environment Agency has checked the bags and said they were safe. They purely hold saline solution, were sealed and have never been used.

CCW said the bags could continue to wash up for some time to come.