Durdle Door covered in litter and human faeces as crowds leave

Roads were jammed and business was booming at the coast as crowds flocked to the seaside – with temperatures soaring over 30C.

However there was again anger over the litter and mess left at the coast as thousands made their way along narrow roads to get to the secluded beaches around Durdle Door. Locals said they felt ‘trapped’ as huge numbers descended on the area.

Traffic management plans by authorities – brought in following chaotic scenes in the area earlier in the summer – stopped incoming traffic from getting to the car parks at Lulworth when it got too busy.

It meant that many visitors – including a family who had travelled for more than six hours from Birmingham – had to be turned away.

Videos on social media showed streams of cars arriving as early as 8am. Roads to the hotspots had to be closed by lunchtime on Saturday and Sunday because the car parks had already reached capacity. Although locals said some people were ignoring road closure signs and tried to get through.

Litter pickers at Durdle Door were once again faced with piles of rubbish and human faeces.

Cllr Laura Miller, who lives in Lulworth, was litter picking all weekend.

She said: “It’s really bad, there’s lots and lots of litter. If anything it has gotten worse. The roads will be closed again but people just keep coming and they keep ignoring the signs. We don’t have the manpower to enforce all the road closures.

“The interesting thing, from speaking to people stuck in the traffic, is that they don’t want to go to another beach. We have lots of beautiful beaches but they aren’t interested, they only want to go to Durdle Door. Some are coming just to see the archway and some are coming because it’s getting a reputation on social media as a party beach.”

She added: “This didn’t happen last year but we have had people arriving through the night this weekend. The Lulworth Estate has employed a security company to deal with that and they have opened a field to let people camp free of charge to stop them camping on the beach.

“People in the village feel trapped. We feel that if we leave we won’t be able to get back. Nobody local is using the beach anymore and that’s really sad.”

Cllr Miller said locals didn’t mind people visiting but said that some of the behaviour was ‘revolting’.

Erin Tyrrell was one of a group of volunteers who helped litter pick the beach. She shared images of the trail of disgusting waste left behind by beachgoers.

She said: “It’s like litter picking at an open landfill site. On Friday my friend and I picked up eight refuse sacks from Durdle Door, three from Oswald Bay and Man O’ War and spent over four hours of unpaid service picking up plastic, tampons, sanitary towels, nappies, abandoned tents, you name it.

“I heard that Lulworth Cove was bad too and the villagers are traumatised by the state of their home. The sea was a tip, the caves were a tip. The cliffs have been vandalised. There’s poo and soiled wet wipes everywhere and behind every corner it absolutely stinks.

“Is the beach at Durdle Door a public toilet or just an open sewer? The caves are vile, people are filthy and this beach is a public health hazard.”