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British beaches lined with rubbish, faeces, vomit and urine after thousands gather during weekend heatwave

Sites in Kent, Sussex, Dorset and Cornwall left filthy after daytrippers go home

Tim Wyatt
Monday 10 August 2020 15:53 BST
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Major incident declared after thousands flock to Bournemouth beaches

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Visitors to some of the UK’s beauty spots have been accused of leaving a mountain of rubbish behind them during the weekend heatwave.

Holidaymakers who descended upon beaches in their thousands reportedly left several sites covered in litter and worse.

At Crantock Beach in Cornwall, locals complained after spotting a group of young men vomiting and urinating into one of the caves during a drink-fuelled party in the sunshine.

In Brighton, pictures show the famous beaches strewn with plastic bottles, beer cans and food packaging left behind after day-trippers returned home.

The world-famous beauty spot of Durdle Door in Dorset was so popular the local authorities had to block off the roads after car parks filled up and roads were left gridlocked.

Reportedly, the iconic beaches were left covered with rubbish as well, including nappies, tampons and even human excrement.

One local, volunteer litter picker, Erin Tyrell, said the community had been left “traumatised” by the hordes of visitors overwhelming the area.

“The sea was a tip, the caves were a tip. The cliffs have been vandalised. There’s poo and soiled wet wipes everywhere and behind every corner it absolutely stinks,” she told the Dorset Echo.

“Is the beach at Durdle Door a public toilet or just an open sewer? The caves are vile, people are filthy and this beach is a public health hazard.”

In Bournemouth, some have even taken to camping overnight on the beaches, angering the town’s residents and filling up the sands with tents, sleeping bags and food waste.

“I think it’s an absolute disgrace, with all the mess and sleeping wherever like it is a free campsite,” Kara-Jade Haywood, who lives nearby, told the Bournemouth Echo.

The leader of the local council, Vikki Slade, said the situation on Saturday night, when the mercury soared to a sweltering 32 degrees, was “ridiculous” and councillors planned to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss what to do.

“It is zero value tourism and is incredibly disrespectful to the community,” she told the local paper.

In Kent, police had to respond after a Caribbean takeaway restaurant in Croydon organised a “secret” beach cook-out saw hundreds descend upon Greatstone Beach in Romney Marsh.

After initial plans to hold the event at Camber Sands were scotched by Sussex Police just 48 hours before, Flavour Boss instead took coachloads of jerk aficionados down to the Kentish coast, despite lockdown rules barring gatherings of more than 30 without permission from the local authority and police.

Locals have been left furious after visitors to the beaches dumped rubbish
Locals have been left furious after visitors to the beaches dumped rubbish (PA)

The organiser, Orette Williams admitted “it did get a bit out of hand, with regards to the social distancing”, but insisted the police were informed about the gathering and said he would have lost £2,000 if he had cancelled it at the last minute.

The Sussex Wildlife Trust has warned some of the rubbish being left behind on the south coast’s beaches could take centuries to break down.

Ella Garrud, the charity’s Living Seas Officer said: “As coronavirus lockdown measures continue to ease, there has been a noticeable spike in the amount of rubbish being left on beaches as more people are able to spend more time at the coast.

“Often, incoming tides will wash a lot of waste into the sea where it immediately becomes a threat to marine life. It is therefore vital that everyone takes home their litter and disposes of it properly.”

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