Tourists have come under fire for failing to clean up after themselves when visiting the UK’s beaches during the heatwave.
Thousands of holidaymakers descended on the coast as temperatures soared over the weekend, but left behind mountains of litter.
Visitors to Brighton, Bournemouth, Whitsable and Durdle Door are among those accused of ‘disrespectful behaviour’. Some were witnessed using caves as toilets or vomiting on the shoreline.
Families complained after a group of ‘20-somethings’ were spotted being sick and urinating in a cave at Crantock Beach in Cornwall.
The group of about 15 were swearing, playing loud music and drinking heavily from the morning, onlookers said.
When confronted by one beachgoer, they responded: ‘We’re on holiday and can do what we want.’
One dad who took his son to the beach to celebrate his birthday said: ‘Sadly, they weren’t the only group of people to use the same area as a toilet and urinate in exactly the same place.
‘We witnessed two other separate groups doing so. Bearing in mind, the toilets are 100 metres away. My wife even saw people drinking bottles of Budweiser in the sea.
‘It was disrespectful to everyone in the surrounding area. I felt for the families of young children having to witness that.’
Meanwhile people in Dorset were fuming after Durdle Door beach was strewn with rubbish including nappies, sanitary towels, tampons and faeces.
Residents described feeling ‘trapped’ after being inundated with visitors, with authorities forced to block incoming traffic after car parks reached full capacity and roads were gridlocked.
Volunteer litter picker, Erin Tyrrell, said people have been left ‘traumatised’.
She told the Dorset Echo: ‘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.
‘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.’
Tourists also failed to clean up their mess in Whitstable, Kent, with bins overflowing and disposable barbecues dumped on the beach.
And a clean-up operation was launched on Brighton beach this morning after a busy weekend.
Rubbish collectors can be seen surrounded by a sea of rubbish as they battle to remove the debris left by visitors.
It comes as environmental groups are also reporting masks and other PPE equipment washing up on beaches surrounding Brighton.
Sussex Wildlife Trust issued a warning after finding scores of single-use items on the Sussex coastline.
Around 11 tonnes of rubbish was dumped on Brighton and Hove’s beaches on a single day in June.
And the PPE masks will take 450 years to break down, the charity said.
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.
“With bins overflowing with rubbish, many people are choosing to simply leave their litter behind.
“Although many councils employ people specifically to help clean beaches, it is impossible for them to collect everything.”
Britain is sweltering during a heatwave set to intensify this week.
But the soaring temperatures have sparked fears crowds descending on beaches could lead to a coronavirus spike.
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Some people camped overnight in a bid to secure a good sunbathing spot.
It comes as Brits ignored red alert warnings to stay away from packed beaches across Bournemouth over the weekend.
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