Storms reveal old tobacco waste dumped on beach
TOBACCO waste cliffs on Formby beach have become visible after storms Eunice and Franklin cleared the coast.
The site was previously covered with sand but the stormy weather caused the area to become visible to those visiting Formby beach.
The area is set to be transformed into a nature refuge by the National Trust as part of a multi-million-pound scheme.
The popular beach and sand dunes were once a dumping ground for thousands of tonnes of tobacco waste in the 1950s and 1960s by the British Nicotine Company which had a plant nearby.
The refuge will aim to provide a haven for plants, reptiles and amphibians, including the extremely rare natterjack toad.
It was also shared on social media that the beach had been destroyed in parts following the storm as Sefton Council described the erosion as “swift and incredible”.
One image was shared by resident Michael Doran, who described the scenes of coastal erosion as “heartbreaking”.
He said: “Storms Eunice and Franklin have utterly destroyed Formby Beach. There must be three metres of erosion
SOUTHPORT Disco Festival is back on Saturday with tickets now on sale.
The third edition of the festival will take place at Bliss Hotel in Southport, bringing you the very finest in disco and house classics.
Headlining the event will be Alison Limerick performing some of her biggest tracks including Where Love Lives.
Southport Disco Festival organiser Mark Pickup said: “These events have grown each time. The last one was like walking into Manhattans in the 90s, not just because of the music or local DJs like Lee Groves and Nick Rees but because of the people!
“It was a proper old skool Southport party crew. It was great to have K-Klass play for us in November and we can’t wait to welcome Alison Limerick this March.
“The other main thing you notice at Southport Disco Festival is the massive age range. We had 20-year-olds mixing it up with 50-year-olds on the dance floor. People just come to dance to good house classics and disco music and that’s what we focus on.”
Co-headlining their next event will be Hot Digits boss Fingerman and Glitterbox regular Get Down Edits Martin Roche and fresh off being on tour with The Brand New Heavies. You can expect some superior disco grooves from Hot Gorilla, Conan The Selector and Andy Buchan.
Bringing some house classics to the easy, with 6ft drops to the beach and rubble at the Victoria Road end everywhere.”
He added: “You’ve got one hell of a job on your hands National Trust Formby.”
Responding to Mr Doran’s post, Sefton Council admitted the damage done to the Formby coastline by consecutive storms was huge.
The council said: “Our Green Sefton team and National Trust Formby work all year round to combat coastal erosion.
“Yet the impact of Storm Eunice and Storm Franklin on our coastline has been swift and incredible.
“This is one of the many reasons why we asked people to stay away from coastal areas this weekend.” event will be local legend and Manhattans resident Lee Groves, whose vinyl set at the last Southport Disco Festival was widley praised.
Lee will be joined by Mark Pickup who will also be playing a house classics vinyl set and electric drums.
They are excited to welcome back Southport Weekender regular Camile Cee as well as Paul Hollinshead and are also looking forward to a vinyl and percussion set from Ali Cunningham.
A limited number of early bird tickets are now available at £15 from Skiddle at: skiddle.com/e/35988440
At Southport Disco Festival, doors open from 2pm with the event running until 11pm at Bliss Hotel in Southport.
There will again be a Funktion 1 sound system and there are a limited number of VIP tables which can be booked by emailing: editor@whatsonsouthport. com