Cars block roads as crowds hit beaches
PROBLEMS involving litter, raves, fire and antisocial parking flared up as thousands of visitors descended on Sefton’s beaches last weekend.
Merseyside police, Sefton Council and Southport MP Damien Moore all spoke out after the area’s beaches were inundated with huge numbers of visitors despite social distancing measure being in place.
Huge piles of litter had to be cleared by volunteers and the items left behind included gas canisters and disposable barbecues which are not permitted on Sefton’s beaches.
The fire service also issued safety warnings after facing a significant rise in calls to grass and woodland fires during the recent hot weather.
Scores of motorists received parking tickets after leaving their cars in the vicinity of beaches, while many people living nearby reported being blocked in their drives by visitors’ cars.
A succession of parked vehicles also lined the entire cycle path between Weld Road, Birkdale, and the entrance to Ainsdale beach near Pontins.
Police also attended a rave at Formby beach late on Saturday night, where they dispersed groups of “youths”, put out fires, seized alcohol and made a number of arrests for drug and drink-driving offences.
On Monday, Conservative MP Mr Moore called for visitors to the coast to act more responsibly.
He said: “We welcome everyone and want them to enjoy themselves but we don’t want anyone to leave litter, and we want them to have respect for local residents.
“We don’t want to see visitors to our beaches making a mess of the place, we want to make sure they act responsibly.
“While the Government has eased some lockdown restrictions and have allowed small groups of people to meet from different households, that does not mean that we are back to normal or that there is no risk of infection. We have to remain vigilant a while longer.”
Green Sefton, which brings together Sefton Council’s team of staff, partners and volunteers, shared a photo on Monday morning of more than 30 bin bags containing the rubbish which had been collected from around one single bin.
Writing on Twitter, the service surged people to stay away from the crowded beaches.
It wrote: “Take your litter home with you, better still do not visit the coast – the North West is the worst hit region for Covid-19. Why would crowding onto a beach be a good idea?”
Police and fire services also issued warnings as they continued to battle the same problems which have affected the coast for a number of weeks during the hot weather.
Alongside Sefton Council, police are exploring ways to restrict traffic from flooding into the area through closing car parks and restricting access to certain roads.
But in response to numerous inquiries from the public, a spokesman for the local authority explained that it was simply not possible to close the 22-mile long coast entirely.
A spokesman for Sefton Council said: “Our beaches are tempting but they are not able to cope with high level of visitors at the moment.
“We understand that some lockdown measures have been eased nationally but that does not mean that we are through the worst of this and as ever, the health and safety of our communities comes first.
“For those few who do visit our coastline at this dangerous time, they are advised that stringent parking restrictions are in place, all rubbish must be taken home and barbecues are strictly prohibited along the entirety of the Sefton coastline.
“At this time we need people to think about their safety and the safety of others, as well as the wellbeing of our communities and council staff.”
Sefton Superintendent
Graeme Robson added: “We understand how frustrated people have been at not being able to leave home for a number of weeks.
“However our current advice remains that people should remain at home wherever possible and if they choose to leave home they should continue to socially distance and only meet up with the permitted number of people.
“We would also continue to ask people to be respectful if they are visiting local beauty spots. Please don’t leave your litter behind or use camp fires or barbecues. And if you must use your car, please have consideration for local residents and other road users.”