Bournemouth invaded: 500,000 litterbugs trash Covid 19 risks; disabled people forced into roads; police ignore pavement parking
To Bournemouth, Dorset. There was “Chaos on the beaches” says the i. A major incident was declared at Bournemouth beach due to overcrowding and gridlocked roads. It was very busy. Mobbed.
The Mirror and Express lead with Bournemouth beach. Their sister title, the Star, looks at the rubbish and blames “drunken louts” for the dirt and mess left on the sand. But that’s not right. There were plenty of empty beer cans and wine bottles left on the sand, and lots of broken glass on the promenade. There were turds in burger boxes and plastic buckets. There were syringes in the park above Westcliff. There were nappies left in hedges, bags full of rubbish dumped by the kerb, disposable barbecues – with wire trays – all over the shop, broken chair and inflatables left on the beach, and thousands of empty plastic bottles for water and non-alcoholic juices pretty much everywhere. Most people did aim at the bins. But they are full. And what cannot fit inside them is left by it.
The mess was not fuelled by alcohol alone. Seagulls play their part. A lack of facilities, too. You go to the beach but no cafes are open. Toilets are few and far between. Hotels and guest houses are shut.
And the police? Well, one police car drove past scores of vehicles parked on the pavement and drove away. Police did not get out their car. People in wheelchairs and pushing prams were forced to walk in the roads. The police were notable by the ineffectiveness and absence. Some drivers did get parking fines pinned to their car windscreens. As one told me: “It’s only £30-odd quid between four of us.”
Posted: 26th, June 2020 | In: News Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
