'Staggering' amount of litter left at Durdle Door after sunseekers flock to beach at weekend

A "staggering" amount of litter was left at Durdle Door after hundreds of sunseekers flocked to the beach to enjoy the warm weather at the weekend, local volunteers have said.

Pictures shared on social media show plastic bottles, bin bags and food containers strewn across the beach in Dorset.

Hundreds descended on the beach again on Sunday despite police declaring it closed after three cliff jumpers were left seriously injured on Saturday evening.

In extraordinary photos on the local police Facebook page, thousands of beach-goers were crammed into two pens while air medics rushed to attend to the casualties.

Following the incident, Dorset Police said the area was closed and warned that people would be turned away.

A post on Sunday morning said: “Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove remain closed today along with approach roads to the area. Please do not travel as you will be turned away.”

Dorset Council said: “You will not be able to visit the beaches there and will be asked to turn around if you try and access the villages.”

But crowds of people defied orders to stay away from the beauty spot, near Lulworth, and pictures from the beach showed scores of sunbathers sprawled across the sand under scorching sun, while some were jumping off the 200ft arch that dominates the beach.​

Posting pictures of the aftermath on social media on Monday morning, local volunteers and residents were left stunned by the "heartbreaking" amount of litter left behind.

One said on Twitter: "Local volunteers have worked tirelessly to clean up #durdledoor after a weekend of littering from people outside of Dorset.

"It's a staggering amount of litter and heartbreaking to see our beautiful coast treated this way."

A council leader has now called for stricter travel rules following the weekend’s chaotic scenes.

Councillor Vikki Slade, the leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, has written to local MPs and the chief constable of Dorset Police after widespread scenes of irresponsible behaviour witnessed across the area’s beaches.

She said she had witnessed first-hand incidents of people failing to adhere to coronavirus social distancing rules, illegal parking, widespread barbecues and staff facing abuse when going about their work.

Ms Slade said many of the visitors to the beaches were people who had travelled from outside of the county.

“We saw the most awful scenes in Durdle Door with the arrival of two helicopters to deal with the stupidity of people jumping from the top of cliffs, cheered and clapped by thousands of beachgoers," she said.

“We saw the kettling of people to give space to the helicopters and the closely packed paths as people were told to leave.

“We have seen crowds on our beaches, in large groups clearly not from the same household, we have had council officers spat at, abused and intimidated as they go about their work, and I am asking you all to go back to ministers in Westminster and ask them to put a travel restriction on England, as they have done in Wales and Scotland.

“In those devolved nations you can only travel five miles from home for reasons other than work or risk fines, and I am asking that a similar policy is brought in for England with immediate effect.”

There are no mileage limits set for how far you are allowed to drive in England to visit family and friends in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, but the general advice is to remain in your local area as much as possible.

However, people in Wales are not allowed to travel more than five miles from their home for any reason except work or to purchase essentials.