TENDRING residents have called on council officials to recruit more seafront cleaners to combat the volume of rubbish dumped by seasiders and day-trippers.

Following an influx of visitors to the district, and more locals heading to the beach, eco-conscious residents have reported finding more and more discarded waste.

Everything from bags of food waste and clothing to plastic bottles and dog poo bags have been found discarded on Tendring’s otherwise beautiful beaches.

For years locals have called on Tendring Council to install more bins along the seafront during the busier summer months to help mitigate the issue.

The authority, however, which has urged people to take their rubbish home with them if they find a full bin, says it does put extra measures in place.

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David Cornish, 75, has lived in the Clacton area for 45 years, but has been left shocked in recent weeks by the state of the seafront’s beaches.

He said: “I think the people who have left this litter are probably lazy, thoughtless and have shown no regard for local residents, other holidaymakers or the litter workers.

“Additional bins might help but it is doubtful the litterbugs would bother to use them – I’d like to know if the council feels it has adequately resourced its contractor.

“I think Tendring Council needs to arrange for their refuse contractors to have more resources at busy summer weekend times to keep the seafront looking inviting.”

Seasiders and visitors carelessly discarding their waste is also proving a problem elsewhere in the district, such as in Dovercourt and Harwich.

Like David, Nic Grey, 64, who has lived in Dovercourt for five years, is also calling on Tendring Council to do more to keep the seaside tidy.

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He said: “We have wonderful beaches here in Dovercourt, but it seems every year I feel the need to highlight the blight of litter that affects our wonderful coastline.

“We need constant council operatives, especially at the far end beach, Earlham's Beach, where there is no litter picking at all.

“These beaches are well used and need maintenance to keep them looking as they would want to be found.

“I regularly clean the mess left behind whilst walking my dogs very early in the

mornings.

“I collect food and drink packaging, broken seaside toys and inflatables, discarded clothing and towels, dog poo bags and many other unsavoury items.

“This mess is a daily problem and really needs addressing because it is unpleasant to see and unpleasant and harmful to wildlife.”

A Tendring Council spokesman said robust arrangements were in place to keep the area’s beaches looking at their best.

“We want to make sure that our beaches and areas around attractions look inviting to our visitors and residents alike," he said.

“We have twice daily bin collections and twice daily litter picking – this is carried out early in the morning to ensure beaches and surrounding areas are clear for the day ahead, and during the evening to collect as much waste as we can before visitors leave for home.

“This year we increased the capacity of our bins by 40 per cent to help with this issue.

“It is difficult to legislate for those who stay late and leave rubbish, or those who collect their rubbish but then don’t use the bins, and ultimately it is the behaviours of these people which is causing the problem.

“We will continue to monitor levels of waste throughout the summer season and adjust our response accordingly.”