VICTORIA -- A massive mess on a Campbell River beach has been quietly cleaned up, according to the provincial government.

In late November residents who live near Storey Beach just south of Campbell River noticed an enormous eyesore which had washed ashore. Seven large truck tires, roughly three metres in height, appeared on the normally pristine beach.

It is believed they broke free from a nearby dock, but exactly where they came from remains a mystery. 

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development confirmed to CTV News Vancouver Island that it had facilitated the cleanup of the site. 

“The tires were removed by a contractor and sent to a recycling facility,” Dawn Makarowski with the ministry told CTV News. 

Colleen Jones, who originally alerted authorities to the marine mess, said the cleanup was quietly conducted over the past week. 

Jones lives directly across from the beach and had worried she might have to look at the mammoth mounds of rubber forever.