A major incident has been declared in Bournemouth after thousands of people defied advice to stay away and descended on BCP Council beaches on the hottest day of the year so far.
A multi-agency emergency response has now been activated to co-ordinate resources across the area to tackle the issues.
Council Leader Vikki Slade said: “We are absolutely appalled at the scenes witnessed on our beaches, particularly at Bournemouth and Sandbanks, in the last 24-48 hours. The irresponsible behaviour and actions of so many people is just shocking and our services are stretched to the absolute hilt trying to keep everyone safe. We have had no choice now but to declare a major incident and initiate an emergency response.”
Services were left completely overstretched as visitors arrived in large volumes resulting in widespread problems of illegal parking, excessive waste, anti-social behaviour, gridlock on roads and prohibited overnight camping.
BCP Council issued 558 parking enforcement fines – the highest on record – and responded to many reports of cars parking and causing an obstruction.
Roads in and out of the area were heavily congested into the early hours.
Crews received widespread abuse and intimidation as they attempted to empty overflowing bins on the seafront. In the stretch between just the piers, eight tonnes of waste was collected yesterday on the second collection run of the day. This morning, a further 33 tons of waste was removed along the full stretch of coastlineThere were also a number of incidents reported which involved excessive alcohol and fights.