Crisp packets are life-savers with help of Coral the Clown Fish

The hollow fish, called 'Coral the Clown Fish', have been designed and made by the British Ironwork Centre, near Oswestry, and each of them can hold 10,000 crisp packets inside.

As part of an innovative new project, the colourful clown fish are being loaned out to Shropshire schools so pupils can fill the fish with their discarded crisp packets, which will be recycled by the centre into survival blankets.

The blankets will then be donated to help homeless people in the UK and those living in war-torn Ukraine.

Clive Knowles, chairman of the British Ironwork Centre, said: "We're giving them to local schools for one month at a time to fill with their crisp packets.

"One of the fish was returned from North Shropshire College in Oswestry, and they’ve astonishingly filled the fish four times and had to start again.

"What’s very interestingly is they’ve only had the fish a month, so it's a dramatic achievement!"

Elaborating on the project, a spokesman for the centre said: "With fish and ocean mammals living in increasingly deteriorating habitats, it is our duty to step in and prioritise the reduction of plastics entering our natural world.

"Our collected packets will be donated to organisations who can put them to good use; for instance, turning them into survival blankets for the homeless."

"The UK alone currently discards 16 million crisp packets per day; six billion per year. Packets dating back to the 1960s have been washing up on our shores, demonstrating the longevity of plastics in our oceans. The continual damage they can cause our wildlife is unforgivable."

He added: "Not only are fully-formed crisp packets damaging, but also the micro-plastics that emanate from them as they break down over time. This is devastating for the welfare of wildlife, and ongoing, the human race too.

"It is estimated that around 227,000 people were experiencing homelessness in Great Britain in 2021. This is only set to rise with increasing living and housing costs.

"Supporting us by loaning and filling 'Coral' will aid societal and charitable organisations in their amazing journey to offer help to those who need it most."

Schools receiving a fish in December or January are The Marches School, St Lucia's C of E Primary School, King Edward VI High School, John Wilkinson Primary School & Nursery, and Derwen College.

The school with the "best collection" will also receive £250 and a trophy. Local schools can make a request to take part in the scheme at britishironworkcentre.co.uk/coral-on-location-booking-form-faqs