Steps to tackle the increasing amounts of litter being left by visitors to the area are being taken by North Somerset Council.

As well as providing more bins on the seafront in Clevedon, the council is urging visitors to take their rubbish home with them and ‘leave only footprints’.

The council’s contractors Glendale, who pick up litter and empty bins daily, has reported higher levels of litter than normal for this time of year.

With cafés, pubs, restaurants and hotels still closed, more people are using takeaways or bringing their own picnics or portable barbecues with them, which is resulting in more litter than usual being left behind.

This week the council put an additional 15 large 1,100-litre wheelie bins along the seafront in Weston to supplement the existing bins.

An extra two are being placed at Salthouse Fields in Clevedon and the council is also reviewing its provision of bins in Portishead.

In addition, banners urging people to observe social distancing and to dispose of their litter responsibly are being put up along Weston seafront.

The signs use a number of seafront favourites to demonstrate how wide the two-metre gap is.

A donkey, two deckchairs and even John Cleese doing his famous silly walk all feature on the eye-catching images.

Cllr Bridget Petty, the council’s executive member for climate emergency and the environment, said: “Despite our pleas to stay away, people are taking advantage of the easing of lockdown restrictions and the hot weather to visit places like Weston and Clevedon and, unfortunately, are leaving their rubbish behind.

“With hospitality businesses still closed, the amount of litter has increased.

“There is absolutely no excuse for anyone to leave litter lying around.

“We are providing more bins which will be emptied daily and asking people to respect the area and take their litter home with them if the bins are full.

“This waste could end up in the sea and impacts our coastal communities.

“I would like to thank our contractors Glendale and all the volunteers who go round collecting litter. They are doing a great job in keeping our beaches and open spaces clean in very difficult circumstances.”