Following incidents of littering and antisocial behaviour at Barry Island yesterday, the Vale of Glamorgan Council have issued the following statement.

Cllr Neil Moor, Leader of the Council, said:

"Although stay local regulations and social distancing guidance are still in effect in Wales, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of visitors to Barry Island this week.

"The resort team removed around 10 tonnes of waste from Barry Island yesterday. This was from 20 commercial bins lined up along the promenade, litter bins, and litter picking on hard surfaces and the beach.

"A lot of the waste was BBQ related waste, fast food waste, alcohol bottles and cans.

"Whilst we welcome local visitors to enjoy these facilities the issues with litter are a regular occurrence. Our enforcement officers continue to regularly patrol the area and will issue penalty notices for littering offences and illegal parking where appropriate. The Enforcement team will be undertaking high-visibility and covert operations to target those unwilling to clear up after themselves.

"Barry Island is a designated 'no alcohol zone'. This means that the police and our enforcement officers have the powers to remove any alcohol from those that are behaving antisocially and issue fines. There are some licenced premises on Barry Island but these licenses have been granted with strict guidelines on the consumption of alcohol. The litter left behind on the resort, however, highlights that a number of visitors brought their own cans and bottles of alcohol."

"We would like to remind visitors to please adhere to the byelaws that are currently in place in addition to the lockdown restrictions due to Covid-19. It would be grossly unfair to all of those local residents and visitors who have enjoyed our beautiful coastline and resorts responsibly this week if we were forced to take more permanent measures to prevent mass gatherings and antisocial behaviour, but this is something we must now consider."