PILES of rubbish have once again been left on the beach over the hot and busy weekend.

Nadine Tomkins from Preston Park in Brighton was “horrified” when she saw the mess left behind on the pebbles in Hove.

She said: “It was really horrible, it spoilt a nice trip to the beach.

“There was all sorts just left in a big pile, including bottles, paper plates and even a couple of dirty nappies.”

Mrs Tomkins, 68, who had driven to the seafront to walk her dog, parked near Third Avenue and was surprised to see a builder clearing up the rubbish.

She said: “He was working on a block of flats nearby and had seen the mess so came down to deal with it himself.

“He didn’t have any gloves or a pick-up stick, he was just there with a black bag, picking it up with his bare hands.

“It was such a nice thing to do, although he didn’t want to touch the dirty nappies, understandably.”

Mrs Tomkins told The Argus she felt the onus is on those using the beach to clear up after themselves.

She said: “The bins were all over-flowing, but the council really can only do so much.

“People need to take a bag with them and take their rubbish home, it’s easy to do.

“We clear up wherever we go and we have been involved in beach clean-ups ourselves.

“We would come come down here more to help if it wasn’t for the wretched parking. People need to be more mindful of what they leave behind and children seeing this behaviour will be learning bad habits.”

Tens of thousands of people flocked to the beaches in the hot weather on Saturday and Sunday and the bins provided were filled to capacity.

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “This weekend was extremely busy and our beach cleaners cleared 40 tonnes of rubbish from the beach over the weekend, left by people who, it seems, can’t be bothered to put their rubbish in one of the many bins we provide, or take it home.

“We try our very best to keep our beaches clean and would urge everyone who comes to enjoy our wonderful seafront to dispose our their rubbish responsibly.”

Previously speaking on this issue, Caroline Lucas, Brighton Pavilion MP, said: “In hot weather more bins should be provided.”