Durdle Door graffiti cleaned up by volunteers

Dozens of names, hashtags and messages have been removed from the cliffs

Graffiti daubed by beachgoers on cliffs at Durdle Door beach in Dorset has been removed.

Lulworth Estate, which owns the beach on the Jurassic Coast, said a "vast and unacceptable amount of graffiti" had recently appeared on the cliffs.

Rangers from the estate and volunteers from Dorset Climbing have removed the messages and signatures.

The Unesco World Heritage site has seen an influx of visitors since lockdown restrictions were eased.

The estate said a "vast amount" of graffiti had been found daubed on the cliffs

Lulworth Rangers said: "We welcome thousands of fantastic visitors each year. Most know how to behave sensibly and responsibly on the coastline.

"However there are always a few who let the team down by thinking they should leave their mark and deface England's only natural World Heritage Site. This is not acceptable."

The rangers said environmentally-friendly materials and "a lot of hard work" were used to remove the graffiti from the chalk cliffs.

The estate said it was is doing everything it could to keep the World Heritage Site "as pristine as possible" and hoped the "lack of visual tagging will reduce this issue for the summer ahead".

Crowds of people have flocked to the popular beauty spot since lockdown restrictions were eased

Last month volunteers described "horrendous" amounts of litter being abandoned on the beach following the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

On the first weekend following the easing three people were airlifted to hospital after tombstoning from the limestone arch at the beach.

The Jurassic Coast Unesco World Heritage Site covers 95 miles (150km) of coastline from Devon to Dorset.