After a long weekend of hot weather and an extra day off work, beaches across Britain have been left in an 'absolute mess'. Spots all around the country, including Brighton, Cromer beach, Seaton Carew beach and Bournemouth were covered in litter after the crowds departed - leaving furious locals to clean up the mess.
Cromer Beach Clean-Up
North Norfolk District Council shared an update on social media on Tuesday, asking people to 'dispose of waste responsibly' after a two-day operation to clean up the mess left at Cromer took place. 'Following the bank holiday weekend, additional cleaning crews were called to Cromer today to clear up a significant volume of litter, left behind on the beach,' the council said. 'Amongst the waste collected included broken glass bottles, and foil packaging, some of it concealed in the sand and posing a risk of injury to beach-goers and animals.' The local authority revealed the clean-up operation would continue the following day 'to address the remaining litter'. The beach was left a mess despite additional bins being placed in the area ahead of the bank holiday.
Local Reaction
Jill Boyle, a Cromer councillor, told the BBC she was 'lost for words' over the state of the beach and had picked up some of the litter during her dog walk. A council spokesperson said: 'While there was no monetary cost to the additional crew being diverted to clean it up, it did mean that there were service pressures at other locations.'
Seaton Carew Beach
Similar scenes were found on Seaton Carew beach, near Hartlepool, where local Paul Granger picked up 44 glass bottles on Tuesday morning, after the bank holiday rush had subsided. He described the beach as 'an absolute mess' - with overflowing bins, disposable barbecues left behind and other items. Residents picked up bags of rubbish in an attempt to clean up the area as well as council workers. 'If you can be bothered to bring it down, just be bothered to take it home,' Granger told the BBC. 'Treat it with a bit of respect.'
Brighton Beach Litter
Meanwhile, thousands flocked to Brighton over the bank holiday, and as the hot weather continued into the week, plenty more visited on Tuesday too. Photographer Eddie Mitchell captured images of plastic bottles and rubbish left behind. He told The Argus how 'horrified' he was about the mess. He captured photos of piles of glass bottles and rubbish scattered across the pebbled beach. 'It's mainly young people doing this - they are animals and I wouldn't like to see what their houses look like,' he fumed. 'Kudos to the poor people who will have to clean it up at five in the morning.'
Bournemouth Beach Overflow
Visitors at Bournemouth beach also left behind hundreds of pieces of litter, from plastic cups to beer cans and broken camping chairs. Despite there being 300 bins along the front, around half of them were overflowing by Tuesday, the Independent reports. Some even camped on the beach overnight, which goes against a local by-law banning such activities. But the beach sleepovers were interrupted by council workers who arrived on Tuesday morning to clear all of the trash. Jon Kelly, a senior Bournemouth ranger, told the publication: 'If there was no staff there would be loads of rubbish left on the beach.' Across Sandbanks and Bournemouth there is 300 bins, sometimes that is not enough. Local resident Jane Nicholas called the scenes 'a disgrace'. She raged: 'They should take a bin bag and take it home with them.'
