'This is completely unacceptable' - minority slammed for making a mess of Sunderland's seafront as lockdown eases

Early morning visitors to Seaburn rolled up their sleeves and launched a litter pick after they arrived to enjoy the start of the say on the promenade, with sea swimmers and community-minded residents among those to collect bags of waste from the mess left behind.

The efforts, carried out today, Wednesday, March 31, came in the wake of a busy day for our coastline.

People flocked to the beach to soak up the sunny weather and fresh air as the rule of six returned as part of the easing of lockdown, which took its next step forward on Monday, March 28.

Used condoms and cannabis were spotted among drinks cans and boxes left strewn on South Bents fields, while swimmers expressed concerns waste including plastic and glass bottles, dirty nappies and chip wrappers will have been washed out to sea, causing further damage to the environment.

The Echo runs the Clean Streets campaign to encourage people to make the city a greener a cleaner place to be.

Sunderland City Council has said most helped keep the area tidy and stick to the rules, but hit out at what it believes is a small number who have spoiled it for everyone else.

Fiona Brown, its Executive Director of Neighbourhood Services, said: “It is understandable that residents and visitors want to take advantage of good weather on Sunderland’s beaches and in public spaces, and we know that the vast majority of people do this responsibly.

"However, yesterday we saw a minority ruin the environment for everyone else by leaving their rubbish lying around.

"This is completely unacceptable, and we are once again asking everybody to dispose of their rubbish properly in litter bins or take it back home with them.”

Last summer, the council installed a series of extra bins along the Seaburn and Roker front to tackle the increase in waste it saw as temperatures rose and more people headed to the coast as the pandemic restrictions continued and as the summer holidays arrived.

The council’s website offers a section where people can report areas which have a litter issue: https://www.sunderland.gov.uk/Report-litter-debris-or-leaves.

Support your Echo and become a subscriber today.

Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest on SAFC and new puzzles every day.

With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Click here to subscribe.