Nappies left on Kent beach after hot weekend and bins overflow with rubbish

Nappies have been left on a beach in Kent following the hot weekend and waste has piled up next to bins.

Temperatures topped the 30 degree mark on Saturday and Sunday with many people going to the beach.

Pictures taken in Whitstable this morning (September 11) show bins overflowing with rubbish and litter on the beach including bottles, food wrappers and empty beer cans.

One passerby said they saw nappies left on the ground.

A spokesperson for Canterbury City Council said: "Cleaning up after everyone else on our beaches is back breaking work, but we continue to put resources in place to tackle the challenge of litter.

"Along our 14 miles of coastline we have 912 litter and dog waste bins that are emptied up to nine times a day by crews working between 4am and 8.30pm in the peak season.

"But we recognise there is a clash between the night owls and the early birds - two very different groups of beach users. While we understand people tend to party until it gets dark, it’s simply not safe for crews to litter pick at that time of night.

"And then when our early teams start, they cannot be everywhere at once and it takes them a while to work their way up the coast. So we apologise to the early birds, because we get the fact some beaches are not at their best when they venture out first thing.

"Every year we bring in extra 1,100 litre bins and we’ve found ways to reduce the number of times crews need to take rubbish to the tip so they can concentrate on collecting litter. We have signs out asking people to use the bins not the beach, a no-brainer in our view, and to take their litter to the next bin or home if the one they are at is full."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...