A dozen litter stations will be installed along a seafront in a bid to tackle waste being dumped on the beach by louts.

They will be placed around Margate's coast and aim to "normalise" the idea of picking up rubbish and encourage everyone who visits the seaside to do their bit.

The new "TidyPac" stations are similar to the existing Tikspac dog waste bag dispensers, which were installed by the council across the district in 2016.

But the latest ones are much larger in size and provide a free recycled plastic bag to encourage people to collect litter instead.

Rise Up Clean Up Margate (RUCU) - in partnership with the council - created "unique and eye-catching" designs so the stations are easy to spot.

Residents and visitors can expect to spot eight of the 12 stations being installed at various locations along Margate Main Sands from today.

The success of the first set of stations will be monitored in the coming weeks and a decision will then be made on the best places for the remaining four stations.

Alanna McGill-Tagg, a RUCU volunteer, says the group started litter picks back in the summer as a response to the "sheer volume of litter being left on the beaches".

"Even during winter and in lockdown, at each clean we’re still pulling roughly 20 bags of litter off the beaches and surrounding areas," she said.

"The organised picks are a fantastic way for the community to come together and clear a huge amount of litter in one go. But what about in-between the organised picks?

"With the TidyPac stations, we’re hoping that people will take and fill a bag each time they go for their walk on the beach; a little, but often approach.

“Huge thanks to everyone who donated to the crowdfunder and also to the brilliant teams at Thanet District Council and TiksPac who helped make this possible, and of course to the Margate community."

The funding for the project has come from a crowdfunding campaign led by RUCU.

Cabinet member for operational services Cllr Steve Albon (Lab) said: “These new litter stations are a great way to help us find solutions to prevent litter being left on our beaches.

"We hope they will act as a very visible reminder that anyone who comes to our beaches should pick up after themselves as all too often rubbish is abandoned with the expectation that it’s someone else’s job. It’s not."

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