Parking chaos in Bournemouth as town struggles to cope with influx of visitors over busy weekend

More than 800 parking tickets were issued across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole this weekend as thousands of people flocked to the seaside town over the weekend.

The area struggled to cope with the influx of visitors parking irresponsibly so the council had to deploy a tow truck to remove illegally parked cars.

Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council also revealed they were called to remove nine illegally pitched tents and seafront staff reunited 40 missing children with their parents or guardians.

As thousands headed to the beaches later in the day, the local authority tried to ease the pressure on the roads by closing roads across Boscombe and Sandbanks in the hope it would alleviate gridlock.

Last summer one of the places worst affected by anti-social behaviour was Dorset.

In Bournemouth, hundreds of new, bigger bins have been set up on the seafront, along with round-the-clock security patrols and better traffic management, including more tow-a-way trucks.

They are some of the measures which BCP Council hopes will help to avoid the chaos seen last June, when the huge crowds triggered a major incident.