Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

160,000 tonnes of sand driven away from British beaches each year

BOOM OF THE BRITISH BEACH HOLIDAY
- But we transport over 160,000 tonnes of sand back home with us -

Environmentally conscious UK citizens are expected to take over 27 million UK beach holidays this year with 61 per cent saying they'll shun carbon-heavy flights abroad in favour of an old fashioned driving holiday to the British seaside. However, a mountainous 160,000 tonnes of sand will inadvertently be taken home with them – enough to fill 25,000 family cars.

Chevrolet Captiva, the new SUV from Chevrolet, questioned 1,100 UK adults on their holiday habits to mark the launch of the ‘Captiva Family Summer Guide’ – a free online guide to the best driving destinations in the UK.

The top ten most popular beaches destinations UK citizens will drive to this year are:

1.Devon (25 per cent of beach holiday makers will head here)
2.Newquay (12 per cent)
3.Scarborough (& surrounding area) (10 per cent)
4.Blackpool (6 per cent)
5.Bournemouth (5 per cent)
6.Brighton (5 per cent)
7.Norfolk (4 per cent)
8.Weymouth (3 per cent)
9.Weston-Super-Mare (2 per cent)
10.Skegness (2 per cent)

Despite the car being the majority of people’s second most valuable asset, the equivalent of 50 million buckets of sand finds its way into the family motor every year – with most sand being transported from coast to car via shoes and clothing (54 per cent). 33 per cent is carried in towels and blankets, 5 per cent remains in your bucket and spade, 1 per cent is caught in newspapers and books and 6 per cent is taken from the beach via people’s hair and body parts. Women are much more likely to be covered in sand come the end of the day – carrying an average of 7 kilograms of sand away with them each year compared to a man’s 5 kilograms.

Chevrolet’s Les Turton comments:

“It seems British seaside holidays are enjoying a resurgence in popularity, so much so that we are accidentally taking 25,000 amount of cars full of sand home with us. Driving holidays are a great way to discover Britain and also spend some quality time with the family – just make sure if you’re going to the beach you don’t lose them under the surplus sand on the way back.”

The ‘Captiva Family Summer Guide’ giving advice on the best driving days out in the UK is available for free from www.chevrolet.co.uk.

- Ends -

For further info or images of the Chevrolet Captiva Sand Car please contact the Chevrolet Press Office at Mischief PR on 020 7100 9999 or e-mail chevrolet@mischiefpr.com.

Notes To Editors:

Chevrolet has commissioned sand artist Mark Anderson to create a car sculpture to illustrate just how many cars full of sand are transported away from British beaches each year. Alternative images are avialable on request.

Results at a Glance:

-The average British beach holiday maker takes away 5.95kg of sand with them each year

-According to VisitBritain (Jul 2007) there are 27 million people who go on British beach holidays each year – meaning 160,650,000kg of sand is transported back with them (160,000 tonnes)

-A family sized car such as the Chevrolet Captiva holds approximately 6,400 kilograms of sand – 160,000,000 kilograms of sand fills 25,000 cars full

-A sand castle bucket holds approximately 3.2 kilograms of sand – 160,000,000 kilograms of sand fills 50 million sand castle buckets full

-A shoe holds 1.664 kilograms of sand – 160,000,000 kilograms of sand fills 96 million shoes full

-Of the 160,000 tonnes of sand taken away from British beaches each year

-86,400 tonnes (54 per cent) are transported via shoes and clothing

-52,800 tonnes (33 per cent) are transported via towels and blankets

-9,600 tonnes (6 per cent) are transported via people’s hair and body parts

-8,000 tonnes (5 per cent) are transported via buckets and spades

-1,600 tonnes (1 per cent) are transported via newspapers and books

-1,600 tonnes (1 per cent) are transported via other means