Britain's Prince Charles is "haunted" and "horrified" by plastic being dumped in the sea.

Prince Charles and his wife

Prince Charles and his wife

The 66-year-old royal has made a passionate plea to stop people dumping their plastics in the sea, saying it risks harming future generations.

Prince Charles - whose eldest son Prince William is currently preparing for the birth of a second child with his wife Duchess Catherine - said: "Speaking as a grandfather with a new grandchild due to appear in this world in a month's time, I think we probably owe it to everyone else's grandchildren to grasp that solution."

Speaking in Washington DC, where he's travelled with the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles said the dumping of plastic is an issue that needs to be urgently addressed.

He remarked: "One issue that we absolutely cannot ignore is that of the increasing quantity of plastic waste in the marine environment.

"I was horrified to learn that, according to recent research, we collectively allow as much as eight million tonnes of plastic to enter the oceans every year.

"Today, almost half of all marine mammals now have plastic in their gut and I know I am not the only person haunted by the tragic images of seabirds, particularly albatrosses, that have been found dead, washed up on beaches after mistaking a piece of plastic for a meal."