What's stripping the stems of my runner bean plants?

[CompleteBarstool]

As you'll be able to see on the photo something is stripping the base of the stems of my runner bean plants.

There's no slug/snail trails or other evidence of any other critter but I've sprinkled some coffee grounds around them as I hear that will deter some creatures.

(BTW....yes I realise I've planted out quite early, but I'm not an experienced gardener, just learning through my mistakes. I've started off some others should these fail , which is highly likely due to recent frosts!)

slugs? woodlice? mice?

Snails. They get any I sow direct every year and disappear by 7am.

Sow into toilet roll inners and then plant them into the ground, still in the tubes, protruding above the surface - it gives them just long enough to bulk up.

Almost certainly slugs. They operate by night.

Thank you.

I had suspected slugs or snails but the lack of silvery trails made me wonder if it was something else.

I'm hoping the coffee grounds might deter them.

I don't find coffee grounds effective against the slimy thieves - but strong instant coffee cooled and sprayed directly onto the plant does put them off ime.

I find the birds also love a new shoot - when you garden literally everything is out to make you fail :-D Mine are on the windsill in pots at the moment, I put them out mid May last year and lost over half - lesson learnt :-(

Warm water in a yoghurt pot, pinch of sugar, pinch of yeast, sink into the ground about six inches away.

Has the same effect as a beer trap, only they die disappointed, rather than pissed.

only they die disappointed, rather than pissed 😆

Haha, that's what I'm going to try. Not wasting good booze on them!

Slug Pub is in place (I made DS eat an Alpro chocolate pudding so I had a pot to use!)

UPDATE AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

well, the slug pub hasn't attracted anything but the stripping of the stems is now happening all the way up , not just at the bottoms .

The leaves are also looking quite yellow. I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up ripping these out and putting in the next lot when they're big enough.

I was so successful last year which amazed me as it was the first time I'd grown veg, but things aren't going so well this year.

You may need to go out with a torch at about 10pm