Bournemouth beaches: Residents join efforts to clear 'soul destroying' mess

The vast amount of rubbish left on a resort's beaches has been described as "soul destroying".

Many residents started litter picking at 06:00 BST following an influx of visitors to Bournemouth's beaches during the weekend.

Beth Goodship said: "You could spend the whole day down here and you wouldn't pick up all the rubbish."

It comes despite BCP Council spending £1m a year on beach cleaning and bringing in extra staff and bins.

The authority said 2,000 tonnes of rubbish was left on Bournemouth's beaches last year.

Resident Kevin Hubble was among those up at dawn to make a dent in the vast amount of litter

The BBC has approached BCP Council for comment.

Resident, Kevin Hubble said: "It baffles me how people can leave so much rubbish on the beach.... inflatables, beach toys and just general rubbish. It's just horrendous really."

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Ms Goodship added: "Every morning when I come down for a walk I get really upset by all the rubbish that I see on the beach - it's just soul destroying to see the mess. It's awful."

One visitor arriving at the beach for the day early on Monday said: "I was a little bit disappointed. There's lots of rubbish."

Sunday also saw many roads in the town gridlocked after beachgoers double parked. It led to bus firms abandoning their routes after finding roads blocked with parked cars.

When the first lockdown was eased in June 2020, thousands of people flocked to the resort which led to the council declaring a major incident.

Security cameras, a hub for emergency services and more rangers have since been set up - more toilets and water taps have also been put in place.

A free app developed by the council shows beachgoers which areas are crowded, gives the location of public toilets and lifeguards, and says which areas dogs can use.

A 24-hour beach patrol operation is also place to deal with incidents of overnight camping and bonfires.

Triple-sized bins have been placed along the seafront and council staff litter pick from the early hours