Big beach society?

WHEN passing along the Loire River Valley in France, last week, I recalled Kingston visitor Stuart Sargent's 'disgust' in his recent letter to the Observer at seeing the current sadly litter-strewn state of Bexhill's beaches, added to the increasing amount of dog excrement on the parades and streets and dragging down the once pristine image of the town.

Near the city of Tours, I watched several groups of people busily at work extracting detritus from the legendary river and along its banks and piling it for collection.

When I talked to them, they revealed that they were not municipal employees, but local people, working voluntarily in their own time without payment “because our beautiful river is important to us, and to our visitors, and we intend to keep it that way. Rather than waiting to go through official channels, we get the work done ourselves. Local reaction has been amazingly positive”.

Zut alors! Could not the much-vaunted new national Big Society concept be adapted locally to the Bexhill Big Beach Society and a similar volunteer operation be mounted to clean up the beach, whose attractions are equally significant ? There are many public spirited and beach-loving people in the town who would, I am convinced, be happy to lend a hand. Perhaps the Chamber of Commerce or a similar organisation could co-ordinate one or two convenient times and meeting places.

As far as the disgusting dog excrement problem is concerned, despite the many warnings displayed, and the correct behaviour of the majority of dog owners in keeping their pets on leashes, scooping up after them and using the adequate number of disposal outlets, there are many who still blithely allow them to run free, with the inevitable results. Short of forming local Neighbourhood Poopwatch Patrols perhaps people passing by and seeing the offenders, could nonetheless direct a pointed acerbic remark or two at these mindless and selfish individuals.

MICHAEL W GREEN

Marina Arcade

Bexhill-on-Sea