All too often, the repercussions of dumping objects into the sea are ignored as the water conceals the sunken rubbish from sight.

Yesterday, some of the submerged litter was brought back to the surface, and to people's attention, during a clean-up at St Paul's Bay organised to raise awareness of the fragile nature of the marine habitat.

During the event, organised by Subway Dive Centre and the National Geographic Dive Centre, a team of divers collected objects from the seabed at Sirens, St Paul's Bay, while non-divers cleaned up the beach in the area.

The amount of rubbish collected, consisting mainly of glass bottles, was "incredible and is a sad reflection on how people treat the sea," the event organisers said in a statement. Antoine Blanchez, one of the divers who combed the seabed in search of rubbish, said: "When people throw things in the sea, the rubbish sinks and is forgotten. By returning those things back to the surface we are reminding people what there is down there.

"While the objects we collected might seem small, the truth is that they can have a big impact on the aquatic life. For example, a plastic bag can kill a turtle. So with every object we remove we are doing something to help," Mr Blanchez said.

After four hours of rubbish-gathering, the divers handed the litter over to the St Paul's Bay Council for disposal.

The event also raised money for the environmental charity Project Aware.