COUNCIL staff and volunteers were out until 10pm last night picking up rubbish after sunshine brought large numbers of people to the region's beaches.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council thanked local volunteers who have dedicated their spare time to collect bags of rubbish that have been left on the borough’s beaches.

This week’s heatwave has meant the seafronts at Redcar, Marske, Saltburn and Skinningrove have seen a large increase in visitors.

A spokesperson for the council said: "The majority of visitors respected the area and took their rubbish home, put it in a bin or left it beside a bin, but unfortunately a minority of people dumped their rubbish including nappies, takeaway boxes and barbecues, on the beaches, slipways and steps."

With the help of volunteers, council staff were out until 10pm last night, emptying the bins and picking up litter at the seafronts.

Council staff will also be working late tonight and throughout the weekend to maintain the cleanliness of the borough.

The council has experienced a shortness in staff due to members of the team continuing to self-isolate from Covid-19.

It has meant public bins are taking longer to empty than expected and extra resource has had to be deployed to the borough’s hotspots.

Councillor Barry Hunt, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and environment, said: “We are extremely proud and thankful to our residents who have volunteered in their spare time to help clean up our beaches. Their efforts have made a real difference to our wonderful borough.

“We would also like to pay tribute to our council staff who worked from morning until night emptying the bins and picking up rubbish. They will be doing the same today, and throughout the weekend; they are short-staffed, and it is very hot, so we ask for people’s patience.

“Please don’t let a minority of people lead you to believe that community spirit in the borough is not alive and well.

"Our dedicated litter-pickers are never far behind, and our council teams are working extremely hard to keep our borough clean and tidy.”