Visitors to one of north Norfolk’s most scenic beaches have been urged to take their rubbish home with them after an “unprecedented amount” of litter has been left there.
The parish council at Brancaster has had to order in an extra skip to collect the rubbish, which has been stacking up around the bins on Beach Road.
Briony Bax, a parish councillor, said the village had seen a high number of visitors in recent weeks, who were welcome, but were asked to be respectful and take their rubbish home.
Mrs Bax said: “We’ve had unprecedented numbers coming to the beach and our infrastructure is not accustomed to it.
“Our village depends on tourism and we welcome them, but the message is, whatever you bring to the beach, please take it home with you.”
Mrs Bax said the litter problem started when visitors began filling dog waste bins with general rubbish. An extra blue bin was brought in, but that quickly overflowed, and the council now had to employ a skip service to take away the excess rubbish.
She said National Trust staff and local residents had been litter-picking along the beach.
Mrs Bax said: “It’s an area of natural beauty, and the reason for that is because it is not polluted, and we want it to stay that way.”
She said the council and the trust had put up signs with the message ‘leave only your footprints behind’, but they had largely been ignored.
The National Trust manages Brancaster Estate, which includes the beach and harbour.
Alastair Bradshaw, the trust’s general manager on the North Norfolk coast, said: “A combination of warm weather and the easing of lockdown restrictions has meant we have seen high numbers of visitors at Brancaster Beach.
“We want visitors to enjoy their time at our places, and our outdoor teams are working incredibly hard to keep our places open, safe and clean, but we need everyone’s help to keep them that way.
“We would urge everyone who visits Brancaster to take their litter home with them. Dropping litter or using already full bins puts extra pressure on our staff and local authorities at a time when resources are stretched.”
Mr Bradshaw said the trust was developing a shared approach to litter management.
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