A senior officer investigating possible gangmaster involvement on the Shotley peninsula has urged residents to share information, especially in regards to suspected labour abuse among shellfish collectors on our foreshores.

Colin Norton, an Investigation Officer with the government's Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority, has issued a confidential hotline number and hiss email address to be used if a criminal activity is suspected.

The move comes after residents complained about a fresh crop of suspected foragers collecting on a commercial basis, and not just for personal consumption.

Police were called over the weekend as a group were spotted on the foreshore opposite the Bristol Arms, and although an officer turned up, the collectors had left the scene minutes earlier, after being on the beach for a estimated four hours.

Nub News contacted officials and Mr Norton, who has been collating intelligence in the form of photographs, car registration numbers and activities of the groups, and said: "I'm happy for my email to be shared if it kept the information and intelligence flowing."

He can be reached: [email protected] or you can call the confidential reporting hotline on 0800 432 0804.

Nub News reported last year how groups of mollusc foragers were travelling from as far as Manchester to take the oysters, cockles and mussels from the beach, depriving birdlife of a vital food source and disturbing local wildlife. (Mollusc gatherers' full story here).

There are also concerns at the safety of the shellfish being taken home to eat, which a real possibility of food poisoning, leading to environmental health officers investigating.

Reports can also be made in the first instance to Suffolk police by using the online reporting tool here... or call Suffolk police on 101 to report groups of collectors.

In an emergency call 999.

[email protected] or you can call the confidential reporting hotline on 0800 432 0804.