A gold ring, three footballs, a Fitbit and an unusually large number of items of clothing were among the 300kg of rubbish removed by volunteers for Beach Buddies when they staged their winter clean-up of the Mooragh Park lake.

The big bonus for the charity, however, was the number of families with young children taking part for the first time on a cold and wet Sunday morning.

A dozen new faces made their debut for the 90-minute session and all went away with smiles on their faces – and plenty of mud from the bottom of the Mooragh lake.

Participants included members of the Manx Tri Club, which use the lake for their events.

The lake is emptied regularly by the lease holders Adventurous Experiences, particularly during the winter months, and the company has supported Beach Buddies for a number of years for the community event.

Wellington boots were a must for anyone who ventured into the lake itself, which was at least half of the 53 volunteers who took part in the clean-up.

And many of them went home with clothes that were in need of a visit to the washing machine.

Beach Buddies founder Bill Dale told Island Life: ‘It wasn’t a kind day weather-wise and I’ll admit I didn’t expect a big turnout.

‘But we had an excellent response and everyone seemed to go home with a smile on their face – even if they were covered in mud!’

He added: ‘The big bonus was the number of families who took part.

‘We speak in schools all the time, and there were definitely some faces I remember from this last few weeks.

‘So it’s perfect when they have gone home and educated mum and dad and then bring them along to take part.

‘We’ve got something very special happening here in the Isle of Man, not just on beaches but also in parks, plantations, glens and footpaths and, of course, lakes.

‘The people of the Isle of Man are setting a fantastic example to the rest of Britain and the world.’