The most rubbish hotel in Rome

So who wants to stay in a hotel like this?   Well, supermodel and eco warrior Helena Christensen for one!

Commissioned by Corona's Save the Beach campaign for World Environment Day, this pop-up rubbish hotel in Rome was created by German artist HA Schult to highlight the importance of preserving Europe's beaches. And it's built almost entirely from rubbish collected from the sands of our wonderful continent.

Although this two storey construction, which surprisingly can sleep up to 10 people, will only be in open until Monday 7 June, its message will last for longer.  The Save the Beach campaign is inviting people across Europe to report and nominate endangered beaches throughout the summer, by visiting www.coronasavethebeach.org.  The winning beach will be recovered and cleaned later this year by brewing company Corona.  Last year, website users chose the Italian beach  in Capocotta as the recipient of the Save the Beach clean up.

It's a shame I'm not in Rome for World Environment Day, which is in fact today.  I won't be off to the beach either.  I'll be digging my garden rather than the sands of Suffolk.  But next time I go, I'll certainly pay closer attention and pick up even more litter than usual.  And who knows, I may find enough to build a trashy hotel nearer to home.   Now, I wonder who I could get to stay in my hotel. Alas, knowing my luck it would be the Chuckle Brothers.  So while I ponder that malarkey, I'll leave you with a photo of the world's first ever rubbish hotel with its first ever guest.

Helena Christensen at the Save The Beach Hotel in Rome

More information about the campaign can be found at www.coronasavethebeach.org.