Virginians love their James River.

They turned out by the hundreds yesterday morning to clean up trash left in and around the river.

At the Pony Pasture, on the James River Park's southern bank, a record 255 people pre-registered to help with the annual cleanup, including nine who brought boats. Many more just showed up ready to pitch in, said Lynda Richardson, who coordinates the event for that part of the river.

John Festa, a member of Coastals, a Richmond paddling club, said he uses the river about 50 times a year. "I wanted to give back," he said in explaining why he was helping with the cleanup.

It was a spectacular day to visit what has been called America's founding river and, as the day warmed, also a nice day to be out in the water. Several divers were helping with the cleanup including a team from the Virginia State Police.

"There's an increasing amount of trash in the river," Richardson said. One thing that really angers her, she said, are the people who leave dirty diapers in the river or on its banks. "That is the nastiest, nasty," she said.

It seems some of the river's abusers have taken lately to stuffing glass bottles and dirty baby diapers under rocks out in the river, Richardson said. The bottles, the diapers, the other trash, it's all against the law, but local police lack the manpower to enforce it, she said.

Yesterday's cleanup was sponsored by the James River Advisory Council with the cooperation of several other groups, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. As a regional effort, the event was in its ninth year and covers an area extending 50 miles, from west of Cartersville to the vicinity of Charles City.

James Velzy, an adventure programmer for Chesterfield County and a member of the river advisory council, said some of the river trashing, both intended and accidental, can be prevented by educating the public.

At the Pony Pasture, the divers were snorkeling and wading and looking for trash, including bags full of glass bottles that someone said had been tossed into the James.

Tom Cooke of the Richmond Dive Club may have taken the award for the most unusual find at this spot, a fancy plaque decorated with an Asian figurine in ethnic dress.

Another club member, Debi Moir, said participation in the annual cleanup is probably the club's biggest volunteer effort of the year. "Water is very precious," she said.

Some who helped with the cleanup yesterday were making their first visit to the Pony Pasture, although they've lived in Richmond all their lives. That was the case of Tanya Smith and Erin Kittell, who were there with a group of 14 from the Call Federal Credit Union.

"We got lost," Smith said, adding that now that she knows where the area is, she's going to return for a picnic.

Contact Greg Edwards at (804) 649-6390 or gedwards@timesdispatch.com.