(CNN) From craggy cliffs to broad sandy beaches, Britain is rightly proud of its thousands of miles of shoreline.

But campaigners say great stretches of it are now under threat from a tide of trash thats endangering wildlife and could impact visitors.

The UKs Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has published the results of its annual big clean up, which sees hundreds of volunteers take to the countrys beaches armed with garbage bags.

The event, last September, saw more than 223,400 individual pieces of trash scooped from the shoreline the largest haul since the cleanups began 20 years ago.

Among the more bizarre items recovered were a French bulletproof vest, an unopened packet of bacon, a brass candlestick and, disturbingly, a set of dentures.

Ordinary people were seen as the biggest shoreline spoilers blamed for nearly 40% of the trash washing up or blowing onto beaches.

Commercial and recreational fishing, shipping and sewage outlets are also blamed for detritus including nets, floats, used diapers and syringes.

Disgusting tide

Lauren Eyles of MCS says the quantity of litter found was disheartening.

This is a disgusting tide of litter which is threatening the safety of beach visitors both human and animal. Its coming in from the sea, being blown from the land or simply being dumped and dropped, she said in a statement.

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Bacon and dentures: Weird trash hits UK beaches