PILES of rubbish were left behind at a world-famous Dorset landmark as the school holidays began last week.

As bins at Durdle Door filled up, daytrippers simply dumped their waste nearby. A photograph of the scene was captured by language teacher Tom Armstrong, who lives in Bournemouth.

He said: "This isn't about council budget cuts and a lack of resources. It's about personal responsibility and that has gone begging here.

"It is not the majority, but there is a sizeable percentage of society that seems not to give a stuff at all about littering.

"Durdle Door is meant to be a World Heritage Site and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

"Can you imagine people going to Great Barrier Reef and throwing loads of rubbish over it?"

Mr Armstrong, 73, was escorting a group of tourists to the coastal landmark for a day out when he spotted the bins. Drink cans and crisp packets had been dumped, as well as a child's inflatable car, a plastic table, an old body board, a pop-up tent, a pair of shoes and a shopping basket.

Countryside rangers arrived shortly afterwards to clear the mess.

"On this day I was accompanying a schoolteacher with a group of 25 German visitors and on the way there she had been telling them how beautiful this place was," Mr Armstrong said.

"I saw what was piled up and to say I was shocked was an understatement.

"It had clearly been left there from the evening before and it stank because of the heat.

"Our German visitors were asking if it was normal.

"When I took the picture I was lost for words. It is disgraceful.

"If people can see the bins are already full they should have the sense to take their rubbish home with them."

A spokesman for the Lulworth Rangers, which looks after the rural landscape around Durdle Door, posted their response to the picture on Twitter: "This really isn't acceptable.

"If the bins are full, please kindly take your litter up to the wheelie bins at the car park. No one wants to see this at the most iconic viewpoint along the Jurassic Coast."