Some surprising finds turn up in the Tyne as the Eager Beaver sets sail for a chunky clean-up mission with a difference.

Following the privatisation drives of the 1980s Conservative government, England and Wales are the only countries in the world to have completely privatised water services nationwide. Some of the private companies who have bought the right to service British regions have, it's claimed, been unable to find the necessary funds to keep them clean, and so a patchwork of volunteers and locally-funded projects have been organised to tackle the problem. This film shows the very start of this decades-long battle for clean water in the United Kingdom.

The first edition of the Tyne Tees Television rural life programme Up Country, presented by Jessica Holm. The first report is on Felix Carthouse, a man who uses aircraft to monitor and travel to remote Northumberland forests. The second report looks at a new company whose job it is to clear debris from the River Tyne. The next report, presented by Martin Crocker, looks at the growing conflict between anglers and canoeist on the region's rivers, while the final report follows a local conservator who is raising awareness of marine life in rock pools.