EDITOR'S VIEW: I've got a plan that will send the scourge of South Shields' beaches packing... bin bags!

Here’s a thought: Why not issue every visitor onto the beaches in South Shields with a big plastic rubbish bag… and don’t allow them to leave until it’s full?

Yes, I know it’s unworkable, but the amount of discarded cans, food wrappers, bottles and general picnic detritus left behind on our beaches over the weekend was sickening.

I hear the council picked up tonnes of the stuff after the bank holiday boom time which saw Sandhaven beach renamed the Costa Del Shields. The mercury was nudging 28 degrees and the public were loving it. The environment less so.

How much rubbish was swept out to sea before the council arrived we just don’t know, but I’d wager it was more than enough to make life miserable for wildlife.

We are, of course, not alone in this sad disregard for the cleanliness of our beaches. It was the same story across the river in Tynemouth, Cullercoats and Whitley Bay.

The majority of the public are careful with their rubbish. The full to overflowing bins along seafronts are testament to that. But it feels like there has been a significant rise in the number of people who couldn’t give a hoot about the environment… their environment.

I hate to sound ancient, but most of the culprits I spotted abandoning their cans and chip trays weren’t families - they were younger groups heading home as if someone else would sort the mess.

The irony of being so unprepared for these bank holiday weekends is that they are so easily predictable. The forecasts were predicting a heatwave, it was a public holiday, and yet… it felt like the huge crowds and mountains of rubbish were a surprise.

More wardens, more street cleaners, more bins in the areas most likely to be affected are the logical answer.

After such a brilliant weekend, it’s a shame to end on such a downer that feels like it could so easily be avoided. My bin plan may be unworkable, but I’m open to other ideas.

We manage dog bans. We fine fly-tippers. So why do we shrug our shoulders when hundreds leave the beach looking like the morning after a festival? There has to be a better answer than simply sending council workers in with bin bags every Monday.

Give me your suggestions… there’s got to be a winner amongst them.

Beer and chips… the perfect sun block

Judging by the glowing red backs and faces on walking off Sandhaven this weekend, I’d say it was a good time to invest in the After Sun stockmarket.

Not sure if you can buy shares in Aloe Vera (is it on the Nasdaq?) but the soothing balm will have been much in demand come Monday evening on the Costa Del Shields.

My ventures into the sun were fleeting, because the best sun blocks I find are the big brick ones that serve beer and chips!

A swifty in the Sand Dancer seemed to do the trick, but as the sun refused to abate, I had to apply an extra layer of Colmans Seafood Temple.

And I also got to catch up with The Codfather Richard Ord who was also red in the face… not through the sun, but because he was being run off his feet!

At one point there were more than 100 people queuing up for his fish and chips. Great weather, great food, and great name. What more can you ask for?