Bournemouth beaches receive influx of visitors for hot spell

Sun worshippers have thronged to the Bournemouth coast as record warm weather triggered an official heatwave.

BCP Council said both Bournemouth East and West beaches had seen "amber" levels of visitors during Friday.

The authority expects tens of thousands more beachgoers to come to the area over the next few days.

Thousands of people flocked to the resort when the first lockdown was eased in June 2020, which led to the council declaring a major incident.

A beach check app, security cameras, a hub for emergency services and more rangers have since been brought in.

Chris Saunders, director of destination and culture for the council, said services on the beaches had been "scaled up" in preparation for the hot spell.

He said: "It certainly tests us... we are expecting tens of thousands of people to turn up over the next couple of days - but we are definitely ready."

It has been the hottest day of the year in the UK for the third day in a row and peaked at 27C [80.6F] in Bournemouth at 15:00 BST.

The UK Health Security Agency issued a level two alert for southern and central England - the first this year - meaning the temperature could affect the public's health.

When thousands flocked to the area as lockdown restrictions eased nearly two years ago, council bosses said its services were stretched "to the absolute hilt".

The relaxing of restrictions saw roads gridlocked, vast amounts of litter, overcrowding, wild camping and anti-social behaviour in the resort.

But Mr Saunders said looking back, those were "pretty special circumstances".

A free app developed by the council shows beachgoers which areas are crowded, gives the location of public toilets and lifeguards, and says which areas dogs can use.

More seafront litter bins, which have been being tripled in size, and more toilets and water taps have also been put in place.

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