And Environment Minister Steve Luce has warned that if such behaviour continues parishes may need to consider removing public barbecue areas altogether.
The States police confirmed that they had received multiple calls about the mess left at the barbecue area near St Catherine after the Liberation Day holiday.
The force also posted an image of the affected area on their Facebook page, asking anyone with information to get in contact with them.
They said: ‘Thank you to all those who contacted us. We can confirm that we have identified the majority of those involved in this incident and will be progressing the matter accordingly. This morning we received a number of calls regarding the appalling mess left by inconsiderate Islanders who used a local beauty spot at St Catherine’s for a BBQ yesterday and left behind all their rubbish – this isn’t only not nice to see but presents a hazard to wildlife and other Islanders. If you are using these areas treat them with respect and clean up after yourself.’
The post was liked, shared and commented on hundreds of times. A number of people also contacted the JEP about the rubbish.
Among those commenting on the States police’s post was Dan Mardell, who said that he had driven past the area at around 9.30 pm [on Wednesday night] and noticed that a large fire had been lit. He also said that he would be reviewing footage from a dash camera in his car which may have captured the scene.
John Taylor also expressed his dismay at the mess and said that somebody must have seen who had left the rubbish there.
‘The amount of rubbish left behind shows they were there for a few hours at least. Send them a bill for the cleaning up and ban them for the future,’ he said.
‘We are very lucky to have these beauty spots, these mindless individuals will ruin it for everyone.’
David Le Feuvre added: ‘Disgusting, I was going to say pigs, [but it is an] insult to pigs, though. Notice all the empty booze bottles, it makes you absolutely mad.’
And Juliette Blanchard said: ‘When so many Islanders are helping keep our Island beautiful with beach clean-ups – fill a bucket of beach rubbish and get a free coffee etc – it’s just appalling that some people just don’t give a monkeys’.
Environment Minister Steve Luce, who is also Deputy of St Martin, in which the area is found, said that it was one of the worst examples of littering he had seen in recent years.
‘It is quite an extreme view but I think if this sort of behaviour were to continue then we would need to look at removing barbecue areas,’ he said.
‘The vast majority of people use them and then clear up after themselves, so it is not something we need to look at now.
‘The most upsetting thing is that the culprits appear to have made a conscious effort not to clear up as there is a bin literally ten feet away.’
He added: ‘This sort of behaviour cannot be tolerated. Maybe some people will have some evidence and the people involved will be brought to book.’
The Environment Department’s countryside rangers have since cleared up the rubbish.
