Beach cleaning should continue year round, Douglas councillors have decided.

The decision has been reached after a proposal earlier in the year to step down the level of seaweed clearing carried out on Douglas beach.

Currently a mechanical digger is used to bulldoze away the large quantities of seaweed that can accumulate on the beach.

The clean up takes place year round, which councillors considered essential because if left, the seaweed rots causing a smell and attracting a plague of flies.

Some councillors had been concerned about the ecological impact of the bulldozer operating on the beach daily, noting a reduction, for example in the number of worm casts to be seen on the beach at low tide.

Councillors have now agreed work should be done year round but not necessarily on a daily basis, instead being undertaken when required.

At an earlier meeting, Council Leader David Christian said regular work on the beach was essential. Many alternatives had been tried, including collecting the seaweed and either dumping it or offering it for agricultural use, but no other strategy had been as effective as pushing it back into the sea.