beaches

[danchip]

the beach in front of my home is adjacent to what used to be a ship yard, when there is high tides or stormy weather there is a lot of scrap metal, rope and other items which we dumped in the bay from the shipyard

my question is who owns the metal etc which gets washed up on the beach, the local residents all clear the beach to make it afer for children and dogs but have recently been told by council officials that we could be charged with theft if we do this!

The shipyard closed over 30 years ago and the company no longer exists, the council claim they do not have anything to do with the beaches and say they belong to the crown, is this right?