WELL IT could hardly have been better and spring has now well and truly sprung.

The sun has been shining relentlessly throughout the Easter Bank Holiday weekend with thousands of people thronging the streets and heading for the beach.

Of course, this balmy weather has many benefits and not just for our collective wellbeing.

Seafront traders have been doing a roaring trade with fish and chips and ice cream particularly in demand and thirst being quenched with mineral water or, for those who were not driving, beer and wine.

Pubs and cafes were rammed to the gunnels and on the streets and the beach sunglasses were de rigueur.

Businesses will be praying that the heatwave continues, particularly as for those on the seafront, a good spring, summer and autumn season is absolutely crucial in order to survive the winter months when there is invariably a sharp downturn in trade.

One aspect of this bumper weekend has been a lot less pleasant, however.

Many of those who use our beaches, be they residents or visitors, are leaving without taking the rubbish they have accumulated with them.

Take a walk along the shore in the early evening and the amount of rubbish left behind is quite staggering.

We all read about the damage plastics are doing to our oceans, yet the message appears to be falling on deaf ears.

Please pick up packaging once you leave the beach and put it in the nearest available bin rather than leaving it strewn across the pebbles.

It’s not too much to ask.