THE sound of dredging for oysters in Brightlingsea is featuring in a poll asking for people to vote for their favourite coastal sound.

The poll by the National Trust is part of a three-month project in which a sound map is being created of the country’s coastline.

The sounds will be added to the British Library’s Sound Archive.

The recordings will also be used to create a new piece of music, inspired by the coasts, by Martyn Ware of Eighties groups Human League and Heaven 17.

Graham Larkin, operations manager at the Colchester Oyster Factory in East Road, East Mersea, which dredges the oysters off Brightlingsea, said: “It’s nice for a local town which has a lot of tradition involved to be entered into the poll.”

The sound of traditional dredging used to include sails flapping as the boats went out to sea.

But Mr Larkin described the noise produced from the modern method of dredging them with engine boats, as sounding like “a noisy boat with a rattling engine”.

He added: “It’s a very bizarre idea, but it can only promote the local area and the oyster industry, and put Brightlingsea on the map.”

Out of the 400 sounds that have already been recorded, it is one of ten have been selected for a public vote.

Cheryl Tipp, curator of wildlife and environment sounds at the British Library, said: “In just six weeks we’ve had some brilliant recordings which show just how diverse the sounds of the coast really are.

“We want to showcase some of the best sounds while encouraging more people to get involved, especially over the summer holiday period.”

Mr Ware, who will create the music, said the diversity of the sounds selected for the poll was something beautiful to behold.

He said: “Go to the coast, close your eyes and reawaken the most underrated sense of all – hearing – and pay attention to the beauty of your sensory environment and you will be repaid a thousandfold.”

Other sounds featuring in the poll include children playing in Somerset, ferries in the fog in Merseyside, seagulls in Scotland and waves breaking on the beach in Wales.

To hear the sounds and take part in the poll, which is open until August 27, and to find out more about the “sounds of our shores” scheme, visit national trust.org.uk/coastal-sounds