Beach camping seen at Hengistbury Head over weekend

The hot weather brought people in their thousands to the beach, with the promise of guaranteed sunshine over the weekend.

And some people came equipped with tents and camping gear, determined to make a weekend of it - despite the strict rules in place.

BCP Council say no overnight sleeping or camping is allowed on the beach, seafront, cliffs or car parks.

Campers at Sandbanks beach

The authority has previously warned people should be prepared, saying a 24-hour beach patrol will be repeatedly visiting to gather evidence for prosecution and those flouting the rules could face a £1000 fine. 

Tents were spotted at Sandbanks, Hengistbury Head and Poole Harbour beach over the weekend.

One resident said he also spotted four tents at Mudeford sandbank on Sunday morning.

Last year we reported that nine people were facing prosecution for camping overnight on the beaches.

What's the background?

In the summer of 2020 - 'major incident' summer - thousands of people flocked to beaches across Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch for a break - as foreign holidays were nearly impossible.

One man said he was "verbally abused" by overnight visitors and others expressed their anger and disgust at the rubbish left behind by campers.

Another resident, speaking after a particularly hot weekend in August 2020, said it was "zero-value tourism" with another slamming the behaviour as "an absolute disgrace".