Piles of rubbish found dumped on beach

PILES of bricks, broken glass and other rubbish have been found dumped in dunes on Aberavon Beach.

The massive pile of waste including an icebox, numerous glass bottles, plastic sheeting, bedding, shopping bags and rusty broken scissors could be seen covering an area of dunes on private land behind the Naval Social Club in Purcell Avenue, Port Talbot.

The mound of mess was spotted by Sian Evans when she walking her dog on the beach on Thursday [April 8]. Sian sent images to Surfers Against Sewage Port Talbot, a group that carries out regular litter picks at the beach, who said the find was “not a new thing”.

Beach clean volunteer Rachel Edwards, 37, said she recently filled two large rubbish bags with bottles and plastic cups from a “small area” of the beach.

“I was there on Saturday [April 3] with my husband and children and there were kids partying in the dunes.

“It’s not a new thing, that level of mess, but I haven’t seen it that bad over recent months. Since lockdown has started to lift we’ve just seen tons and tons of rubbish around – fires, cans, bottles, tents, barbecues, it’s everywhere.

“The level of mess and rubbish is just increasing ten-fold,” she said.

Rachel, who carries out regular litter picks with her husband and children along Aberavon Beach as part of the Surfers Against Sewage group, said she wants to see people enjoying the beach but asks them to take their rubbish home with them: “If there’s a little bit of sunshine, the next day it’s covered again,” Rachel said.

Neath Port Talbot Council confirmed that the waste was not on council-owned land.