YOUNGSTERS inspired by the story of an injured sea turtle on the other side of the globe have begin taking action close to home.

At Looe Primary Academy, children in Year 5 have been helping clean up rubbish off their local beach - and are planning to write to the council and politicians about the threat from marine plastic.

The children were excited to have TV cameras in class, as the BBC’s Spotlight news programme visited to film the pupils as they learned about the issue.

And since the programme aired, people all over the world have been getting in touch to encourage the children in their efforts.

‘Since September we have been looking at the topic of endangered animals,’ said class teacher Lindsey Taphouse.

‘We started by reading the story of Duffy the sea turtle and how she overcame floaters syndrome, and the children wanted to make a difference. I got in contact with the Looe Marine Conservation Society who helped us organise a beach clean in Looe. The children were astounded and shocked by the volume of rubbish that they found.

Pupils created junk models from recycled materials and have been speaking with friends and family about the importance of reusing and recycling waste.

And the class has also been to Newqay Zoo, to look out how the zoo help to conserve endangered animals.

‘As a whole school we have recently taken part in ‘Wear it Wild’ day where all the children came in dressed as an endangered animal. We raised over £200 and we were able to adopt a lion cub through the World Wildlife Foundation,’ said Ms Taphouse.

‘In the next few weeks we are going to be writing persuasive letters to the council and the government to look at how we can stop plastic in our seas, and how we are protecting our wildlife for future generations.’