STUDLAND Bay, home to the protected Seahorse, was given an underwater spring clean as divers picked up litter from the seabed.

The event was part of an international Dive Against Debris and coincided with a sighting by divers from the Seahorse Trust of a female spiny seahorse in its natural habitat of seagrass meadow.

“That’s the first seahorse we have seen at Studland this year but there have been an unusually high number of seahorses being washed up due to the storms,” said Neil Garrick-Maidment, executive director of the Seahorse Trust.

Along the Dorset and Devon coasts 10 have been washed up and the Daily Echo has reported on the miraculous rescue and return to the sea of three lucky creatures.

“I have noticed that this year due to the mild winter there is a lot more food around than normal which is one of the reasons why the seahorses are coming in early – the mild weather is also another reason,” he said.

“Unfortunately as they come in they have been caught by the storms and washed ashore.”

Local dive school Flippas n Fins teamed up with Dorset Wildlife Trust and 20 divers collected a variety of rubbish ranging from plastic cups and knives to discarded rope.

Julie Hatcher, the trust’s marine awareness officer, said: “This event was meticulously planned and all the divers followed a strict protocol to ensure there was no disturbance to the important wildlife.”

Although the water was far from clear, divers reported seeing a variety of wildlife including spider crabs, cuttlefish eggs and plenty of the seahorses favourite food, mysid shrimps.

Dive organiser Mark Ninnim said: “Everyone involved with the weekend feels that they’ve done something very positive to look after the aquatic wildlife in the area.”