Kentish Express Ashford & District
Warning: Loos will be shut again if cleaning staff abused
Viking Bay, which prompted the launch of the trial, might have been dispersed sooner had patrols been in place then.
“Just their presence will make a difference,” she added.
“People who might want to cause trouble will know there is someone watching.”
More than a dozen people were involved in the incident on Viking Bay on Monday, May 25.
Punches and kicks were exchanged as horrified beachgoers looked on and the shocking footage was posted online.
And on Saturday night in Margate, two teenagers were arrested after police broke up a seafront brawl.
Officers descended on the scene, after reports of a disturbance at around 9.15pm. A19year-old woman from Margate was issued with a £90 penalty notice for being drunk and disorderly in a public place.
Just as toilets were reopened, a council had to warn beachgoers they would be shut again if they were rude or abusive to cleaning staff.
The warning comes as more loos on Thanet’s main beaches were opened at the weekend to cater for crowds of people descending on the coastline during the hotter weather.
But Cllr Steve Albon, cabinet member of operational services, warns the council will have no choice but to close them again if people mistreat cleaning staff, which has been happening.
Hundreds of people have been packing the district’s beaches after Boris Johnson announced an easing of lockdown restrictions, allowing people drive to places to get outdoors.
During the busy Bank Holiday weekend only a few toilet facilities were open and horrified residents living near to beaches took to social media to condemn those urinating behind beach huts and in other public places.
Cllr Albon said: “We are relying on members of the public to respect the toilets and to act in a responsible manner - leaving them as they would expect to find them.
“It is a tough job, particularly in the current circumstances, and it is absolutely unacceptable to be abusive or rude to those members of staff.
“If this continues to happen, we will be left with no choice but to close the facilities.”
An art installation urging people not to use the beach as a toilet was put up over the weekend at Botany Bay in Kingsgate.
The display by the Friends of Botany Bay and Kingsgate featured a toilet and sign asking people not to use the bay when they needed to go to the bathroom.