'Shocking' 1940s and 50s litter found on west Dorset beaches

A World War Two-era plaster tin lid and a 50-year-old plastic medicine bottle from Colombia are among the items collected from beaches by litter pickers.

Weymouth and Portland Marine Litter Project is marking its fifth year of reducing litter and pollution on the Dorset coast and has been sharing some of its most surprising finds.

The charity runs several initiatives, including cleaning the coastline between Osmington and Chickerell.

Co-founder Dave Taylor, who researches some of the more interesting pieces of litter, said it had been "shocking" to see how long plastic survived.

The medicine bottle, believed to be from the 1970s, was found on Chesil Beach in 2025.

It bears the words "venta bajo formula medico" - sale by prescription only - and an address in Cali, Colombia.

Other items found include a Cooltan sun cream tube, an Odorono deodorant bottle and a Quix washing-up liquid bottle - all believed to date back to the 1950s and 60s.

Taylor uses reverse image searches, AI and archive material to help trace the origins of unusual or old-looking items.

He said: "It's quite interesting. Things like the deodorant bottle, you can find adverts and archive photos. With the washing-up bottle, the brand only lasted a limited time.

"The sun tan lotion was found by a metal detectorist. Cooltan was made in Brixton in the 1950s, then they closed after that, so it's been on Weymouth beach all that time."

The oldest items Taylor has found are glass bottles dating back to Victorian times.

During its five-year history, the marine litter project has saved more than 20 tonnes of waste from the sea.

Its carries out litter picking and organises projects such as fishing gear and crabbing line recycling, a library of discarded beach toys, as well as by recycling washed-up nets, rope and rigid plastics.

Weymouth and Portland Marine Litter Project