A team of Richmond scuba divers found part of an ice skating boot and an old credit card in an underwater Thames litter pick.

Among the items the Richmond Sub Aqua Club found between Richmond Bridge and Richmond railway bridge were a couple of shovels, an array of glass bottles and car parts.

Rodney Read, publicity officer, said the ice skating boot could have been from the days when people used to skate on the Thames when it would freeze over.

He said: “We found quite a varied amount of items – lots of old metal, an old knife, what looks like part of an old anchor, bottles, drinking glasses and an old ice skating boot which could have been from the days when the Thames used to freeze over.”

The 12 divers helped to clean up the 50m of dive sites and contributed to wider research and understanding of the pollution issues facing rivers.

Mr Read said: “I think it’s important to get the message across that just because litter and rubbish is out of sight underwater it still needs to be dealt with as it is damaging our local environment. It was a really successful day.”