BEACHGOERS could be scarred for life by broken glass which has been left strewn across the sand, coastal business owners have warned.
Piles of smashed bottles and discarded litter have been found at beaches including St Brelade’s Bay, Green Island and Longbeach during the recent sunny weather.
Islanders heading to the beach are being urged to be responsible and take their litter home to avoid someone being left with a serious injury.
Max Linney, co-owner of SunnySide Deckchairs in St Brelade’s Bay, said that he had been forced to remove shards of glass from the sand.
‘I’m trying to rake the glass up off the beach and even then I can’t get it all,’ he said.
‘It has a really negative effect on the bay. Most of our customers are tourists who have travelled to one of the top beaches in the UK, if not Europe, and they’re then competing with absolute oinks of kids.’
Mr Linney added: ‘What’s it going to take? Is it going to take someone to stand on one of those broken pieces of glass and have an actual handicap for life? Is it going to have to take someone injured for life on a piece of broken glass which shouldn’t be there?’
Augusto Figueiredo said he saw glass three or four times in the week on his way to work at Midbay Café in St Brelade’s Bay.
‘Our terrace was covered in glass, first thing at seven in the morning. It’s disgusting,’ he said.
St Clement Constable Marcus Troy said that broken glass was ‘highly dangerous if you have got people on the beach’, adding that this was especially the case with children.
He said: ‘We have beautiful beaches, of which Green Island and Havre des Pas are some. We want people to use it.’
Both St Brelade Chef de Police Michel Bougeard and Mr Troy said it was important that when Islanders witnessed people breaking glass or littering, they reported the issue to the honorary police immediately rather than waiting to post about it on social media later.
Mr Troy said that in his experience, the problem was caused mainly by teenagers.
He said: ‘We have to actually catch them in the act. It’s very difficult.’
Mr Troy encouraged people to pick up glass and litter and throw it away into nearby bins, as he does, and contact the honorary police to report it.
Courtney Farmer – a project co-ordinator at the not-for-profit organisation Littlefeet Environmental – said that although in her experience 99% of Islanders were responsible beach users, it was ‘a shame’ that there were instances of broken glass being found.
She said: ‘We encourage the Island’s population to use our beaches responsibly which in turn promotes safety for beach users, pets and the wildlife we share it with. Natural environments are ours to preserve, not destroy.’
This year’s ecoJersey Parish Clean-Up, hosted by the Jersey Evening Post and Bailiwick Express, is due to take place on Sunday 25 June across various parishes, with further details to be announced next week.
