Lleiniog beach parking prompts safety and erosion fears

Lleiniog beach is a designated area of special scientific interest and includes part of Anglesey Coastal Path which is popular with walkers

Calls are being made to block an unofficial route on to a protected beach where cars and camper vans have been parking near the water's edge.

The community council is concerned about safety and erosion at Lleiniog beach, near Penmon, Anglesey, and it is asking Anglesey council to step in.

Meanwhile, land at Newport Sands, Pembrokeshire, has been bought by officials to ban parking on the beach.

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park has also cited safety concerns.

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Lleiniog beach is a designated area of special scientific interest and includes part of Anglesey Coastal Path which is popular with walkers.

"We don't really want people parking down there, not only for their own safety, driving a vehicle so close to the water's edge, but mainly to prevent further erosion," said Llangoed and Penmon Community Council clerk Alun Foulkes.

Cars have been banned from parking at Pembrokeshire's Newport Sands since this photograph was taken in 2022

"We don't want to stop people enjoying the area - we just ask people not park there," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It is thought recent work nearby may have contributed to public perception that access was allowed following a planning application to carry out tidal defence at a nearby house.

At Newport Sands, some local people said a decision to ban vehicles from their beach could lead to problems due to a lack of parking nearby.

But Tegryn Jones, chief executive of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, said there had been increasing safety concerns at the beach with people driving dangerously and near misses involving young children.