Bournemouth beach awash with rubbish as thousands flock to coast amid heatwave

The beaches of Bournemouth were left peppered with litter after sunworshippers flocked to the coast for the hottest day of the year so far.

Plastic bags, bottles, and picnic leftovers were seen scattered across the sand after thousands of day-trippers defied social distancing rules to soak up the sun and sea.

Early morning pictures showed bins overflowing and a number of tents set up, despite a ban on camping.

Nearby resident Alex Rimell said he headed to the beach in the early hours of Thursday to take some photos of the sunrise but was met by the grim scene.

He told the Standard: “It was hard to divert my attention away from the amount of rubbish left in the gardens and on the beach.

“One simple thing is to take your rubbish home if the bin there is full.

“It’s so sad that people don’t appreciate the beauty that surrounds them.”

Mr Rimell, who had a bin liner and plastic gloves in his car, said he filled up a full bag within 10 minutes, despite only covering a short distance.

“If you can take your towels and shoes home, you can take your rubbish,” he added.

A local group of volunteer litter pickers also headed to the site on Wednesday night, after the crowds had dispersed.

“One huge party on Bournemouth beach today,” they tweeted.

“Very little social distancing, total free for all and littering galore.”

Another furious Twitter user wrote: “Two tonnes of rubbish left on Bournemouth beach yesterday. People had even defecated in burger boxes & left on beach.

"We are creating a pandemic & pollution hell on Earth.”

As photos emerged earlier in the day of the beach awash with visitors, Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood issued a public warning.

The Tory minister tweeted: “Let’s not forget the pandemic is far from over. Rules may be relaxing but restrictions remain in place for a reason.

”If they are ignored and the R value rises then tougher lockdown rules will return. Let’s stay alert to the dangers of COVID-19.”

The leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council (BCP) Vikki Slade has since issued a plea to visitors from outside Dorset to stay away until lockdown measures are relaxed on July 4.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that scenes of people queueing for hours in traffic to visit the coast were “crazy”.

“This isn’t about telling local people they can’t go to the beach, this is the message we’ve been putting out there which is ‘we’re not ready for outside visitors because we can’t give you the full experience’,” she said, as hotels and other businesses remain closed.

A Twitter user pointed out: “It’s difficult to condemn people for going to spend the day at #bournemouthbeach when, a day earlier, the PM was telling them it was their ‘patriotic duty’ to visit a pub.

“This s***, however...this s*** cannot be excused.”

Wednesday was recorded as the hottest day of the year so far, with the mercury reaching 32.6C (90.7F) at London’s Heathrow Airport at 2.46pm.

However, with temperatures set to rise even higher on Thursday, beaches are set for a further onslaught.

Read more

Heatwave continues with temperatures predicted to hit 34C- live

Highest ever UV levels to be seen today as mercury soars further

Heatwave marks hottest day of the year so far as temperature hits 31C

Podcast: Is the UK really ready to ease out of lockdown?