RESIDENTS are furious after Southend’s beaches were left awash with rubbish as thousands flocked to the seafront this weekend.

With temperatures rocketing above 30c on Saturday and Sunday, Southend was a hive of activity as residents and visitors flocked to the seafront in what was one of the city’s busiest ever weekends, according to the council.

Saturday night was particularly busy, with revellers staying out late into the night.

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But come Sunday morning, and Southend’s seafront was a sight for sore eyes, with the beaches covered in rubbish, the bins along Eastern Esplanade overflowing, nitrous oxide dispensers abandoned in the streets, and food waste and beer cans littering the pavements.

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“Some people have absolutely no respect for the environment or other people, the way they treat the beaches,” said Jill Carrick, 48.

“They are so selfish leaving their crap behind for others to pick up. Who is raised like this?”

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Photographs taken on Sunday morning illustrate the extent of the problem.

But Southend Council insists its waste teams – managed by Veolia – worked through the extreme heat to clear the garbage in time for the return of residents and visitors in the early afternoon.

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Alexander William, 58, who was alarmed at the state he found the seafront in on his Sunday morning walk, said: “We need to look at solutions for this long term maybe speak to other areas that don't have an issue and see why?

“I would like to see the council place more beach cleaning stations like they have in Devon and Cornwall along the length of the seafront.”

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Southend has three community beach cleaning kits – supplied by charity The 2 Minute Foundation – two in Chalkwell, and on by Southend beach.

The charity claims its kits, which provide visitors with litter picks and rubbish bags, have reduced littering by 60 per cent in some locations.

The council says it also has a further 200 bins along the seafront, drafts in large ‘euro bins’ to “key locations” on busy weekends and employs extra street cleaning crews over the summer.