SOMEONE put out a challenge to walk the beach at Southbourne barefoot.

So I did. And it hurt.

I took off the shoes and socks at Boscombe Pier and headed towards Hengistbury, test-driving the soles of my feet. And, after a prickly start, it was okay, give or take some difficult, flintish, patches. The view was magnificent and, in many parts, the sand was fine.

But, it started to get bad after Fisherman's Walk and, my God, by the time I got to Southbourne I was more than shocked, I was feeling sore. And not just the feet.

You speak as you find and I found it awful.

No wonder the residents there are hopping. There was more stone near the shore than sand and, in many parts, it was about as pleasant to walk on for a horny-hoofed bloke like me as a quarry. I pity any soft-footed toddler treading on it.

No doubt the motives for beach replenishment were sound but, judging by what I found on my trudge, its legacy at Southbourne is an utter disgrace.

I gave up my barefoot walk at the Point House slope before I got to Hengistbury.

That was when I started looking enviously at a woman able to jump up and down on the stones as she played with her dog.

She was wearing wellies.

Wake up, Bournemouth council. It is not Cllr Roger West who is harming tourism by drawing attention to the appalling state of the beach but those who are not facing up to the shambles created.

Where there was still sand at Southbourne I could still see footprints of seagulls and other birds. Nearer the shore, I cast an eye out for the footprints of ostriches.

But there wasn't any sand in which they could bury their heads.