Council leaders slam 'careless' litter louts leaving rubbish at South Tyneside's coastal beauty spots

South Tyneside councillors have warned that there is ‘no excuse’ and leaving litter ‘will not be tolerated’, as crowds of people are expected to head to the coast to the this summer.

It comes after National Trust bosses raised concerns about the amount of litter being left at The Leas as lockdown restrictions are gradually lifted.

Local residents have reported finding glass bottles, empty cans and discarded cartridges of nitrous oxide, otherwise known as ‘laughing gas’.

On Friday, June 26, huge mounds of rubbish were left on The Leas from groups having barbecues in the hot weather the day before.

And earlier in the week local surfer, Alan Taylor collected dozens of bin bags full of litter which had been discarded at the weekend.

Now council leaders have urged people to take their rubbish home as restrictions are set to be eased further in the coming weeks.

Coun Joan Atkinson, lead member for area management and community safety said: “We take great pride in keeping our coastal area clean and tidy and, despite the current Covid-19 pandemic, our Handy Estates cleansing team continues to work extremely hard to ensure they remain in pristine condition. This includes daily mechanical cleaning of the sand with a surf rake to pick up any debris.

“Our foreshore, parks and open green spaces have always been incredibly popular, drawing thousands of visitors every year. However, with the easing of the lockdown restrictions and schools still closed to most children, many more families are enjoying day trips to the coast, especially during such glorious weather.”

Coun Atkinson criticised what she described a ‘small minority’ of people who are acting illegally by not picking up their litter.

She continued: “While we know that most people dispose of their rubbish responsibly, there is a small minority of people who don’t seem to care. Leaving litter is not only illegal but it spoils the area for everybody else. This will not be tolerated.

“With scores of people expected to flock to the coast over the summer, we are calling on residents and visitors to play their part, to support our clean up efforts by putting their rubbish into the litter bins provided or taking it home with them.”

And she went onto add that litterbugs are not only threatening wildlife and spoiling popular beauty spots, but placing a ‘huge burden’ on council resources in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

She commented: “There is absolutely no excuse for leaving litter behind. It can be hazardous to other visitors, to wildlife and marine life in particular if rubbish is swept out to sea. It also places a huge burden on Council resources which are already stretched due to the coronavirus pandemic. Again, we would ask people to respect our parks and greens space and, on our beaches - please leave only footprints behind.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the highest standards in the world. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news by buying a copy of our newspaper.

We have arranged a special 20 per cent off subscription offer for people to take advantage of. Visit www.localsubsplus.co.uk, choose the newspaper title, the type of subscription and enter your details.

Thank you.