Funnyman Alistair McGowan was absolutely serious when he spoke of the dangers of glass and litter on the beach.

The television impressionist was in Brighton yesterday to launch the Environment Agency's Beachbeat campaign.

The nationwide programme has a similar ethos to The Argus' Keep Glass Off The Beach campaign.

Both are aimed at making people more aware of the problems caused by leaving rubbish on the beach.

Alistair, most famous for his David Beckham and Richard Madeley impersonations, said he was impressed with the general state of the beach in Brighton.

Patrolling for litter with two young volunteers near the Palace Pier, they found just a few pieces of rubbish.

Had they looked underneath the pier, however, they would have been greeted with the sight of half a dozen broken beer bottles.

Alistair said: "I feel very passionately about litter. Some people have a low sense of responsibility and leave it anywhere.

"Glass is a threat to beach users. Also, litter dropped inland can find its way out to sea.

"We want to encourage people to be more responsible."

Looking at The Argus' campaign aims, Alistair remarked: "Cutting off the supply of glass bottles on the day of a big event is a good idea. But people must not think it's all right to leave plastic ones lying around instead."

Beachbeat is aimed at getting people to survey areas of beach and report their findings.

Greg Brina, an aesthetics scientist with the Environment Agency, said: "If people go for a stroll, we would like them to take a clipboard and survey a small area for litter and glass.

"At the moment we only have a limited amount of information. We want to get the public involved and build up a picture of how our beaches are performing over time."

Brighton and Hove Green Party has backed The Argus' call to Keep Glass Off The Beach.

Keith Taylor, convenor of the city council's Green group, criticised the authority for saying the beach had been cleared of glass following last month's Fatboy Slim concert.

He said: "I welcome The Argus initiative to help clean up the beaches.

"It is a far more responsible approach than simply denying any problems exist."