Brits caught illegally camping on UK beach face hourly wake-up calls and £1,000 fines

BRITS caught illegally camping on the beaches in Bournemouth face a rude wake up call – and fines of up to £1,000.

The beaches saw huge crowds over the weekend as temperatures hit 29C in some parts of the country, with an estimated 400,000 people flocking to Bournemouth seaside.

However, camping is illegal on the beaches, with Brits facing steep fines up to £1,000 if caught.

Beach patrol staff will also carry out "hourly wake up calls" to deter sleepers there.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council said, according to the BBC: "Anyone thinking of camping on the beach can expect an uncomfortable night's sleep."

They said that it had stopped campers over the last few weekends, although those who refuse to move will be fined the £1,000 and even face prosecution.

Councillor May Haines said 12 groups had been forced to leave through these tactics after being caught in Southbourne, with another nine groups last weekend caught.


Local authorities also issued more than 800 parking tickets, as desperate holidaymakers face full car parks, leading to blocked roads and pavements from illegal parking.

While UK holidays are expected to boom again this year, as travel restrictions remain in place for holidays abroad, many hotspots are introducing new rules to curb anti-social behaviour and overcrowding.

Hartlepool Councillors want to ban all drinking in the day time across the Seaton Carew promenade which includes the beaches and nearby parks, after people were caught fighting and urinating in public last summer.

According to local media, this means drinking alcohol will be banned from 6am until 8pm from next month, and will run until the beginning of October.

Councillor Sue Little said: "It's the anti-social behaviour aspects of the drinking that we're trying to enforce, it's when people start urinating all over the place, exposing themselves in front of families walking along the prom.

"That's not acceptable and that's the kind of behaviour that we're trying to stop in Seaton, we're a lovely family resort."

Bournemouth beach also has an app which shows which parts of the beach is too crowded, as well as where there is still parking available.

The beach even wants to introduce flying drones for crowd control, Covid marshals and a park-and-ride scheme to prevent gridlock and busy roads.

Rules are much stricter on beaches in Europe – in Greece, beachgoers have to wear masks when walking across the sand.

This is the same in Portugal, with €100 fines for rule-breakers, while Spain is enforcing social distancing between sun loungers on some of their beaches.

We've rounded up some of the best UK seaside breaks this summer, starting from just £147.

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