A GROUP of pensioners have formed their own Dad’s Army to stop the growing number of parties taking place on a picturesque beach.

Two illegal parties at Shoebury East Beach have been advertised on the internet for the coming week, but residents have vowed to stop them.

Beverley Shepherd’s garden backs on to the beach and she is fed-up with people urinating in her garden, littering and being noisy at all hours of the day and night.

So she issued a rallying cry to her neighbours, who have formed the East Beach Home Guard and vowed to “repel this unwelcome invasion of our treasured beach”.

During the Second World War, the Home Guard was made up of 1.5 million volunteers who were ineligible for military service, usually owing to age.

They were to act as a secondary defence force, in case of a Nazi invasion.

The Shoebury group say they want to try to talk to the youngsters to make them understand the trouble they cause – but they also say they will try to warn them off if the problems continue.

Mrs Shepherd said: “We are going to take matters into our own hands, because we can’t rely on the council and the police don’t do anything.

“There is a group of about 20 of us and we are going to go down there to do what we can.

“Surely we are entitled to have some enjoyment from our own property and am as entitled to sit in my own back garden as people are to use the beach?

“The problem is so bad, I have to leave my home at the weekend just to get away from the noise.”

Insp Jeff Appleby, who covers the Shoebury area, said there were ongoing operations at East Beach to deal with the problems.

He asked the Echo not to reveal the dates of the events, in case it encourages more people to attend.

He said: “We are keen to reassure residents police are aware of the potential events which, at this point in time, we believe to be very low key.”