Beach Buddies founder Bill Dale BEM has been nominated for the Tynwald Honour in recognition of his public service and charitable work.

Mr Dale, who was awarded a BEM in 2017, has been nominated for the award by the Tynwald Honours Committee ’in recognition of his public service to the Isle of Man and, in particular, his selfless work on his volunteer beach cleaning organisation, Beach Buddies.’

He started Beach Buddies in 2007, for many years running it himself until 2013 when through Facebook appeals, about 1,500 joined him by the end of that year.

The committee report notes that Beach Buddies was singled out for setting an excellent example of beach cleaning when the island was awarded UNESCO biosphere status.

In 2016, Lieutenant Governor Sir Richard Gozney became the first patron of Beach Buddies in 2016 and the charity has received a letter from the Queen commending the work it has done for the environment.

Since 2013, 10,000 people, more than 10% of the Manx population are believed to have taken part in a Beach Buddies clean, helping with more than 200 cleans a year and removing over 200 tonnes of rubbish.

Perhaps most impressively, Beach Buddies’ education programme has been so well received, it is now taught in schools as part of the curriculum.

The report concludes: ’The committee is of the view in proposing Mr Dale that he would be a very worthy recipient of the Tynwald Honour.’

If Tynwald approves of the nomination at the May sitting next week, Mr Dale will receive the award on Tynwald Day, Thursday, July 5.

The honour, first awarded in 2007, is not an annual award. It is only given to people who have made an outstanding contribution to Manx life.

He would join former recipients such as Harvey Briggs, Hector Duff BEM and Nadene Crowther MBE.