A holidaymaker was forced to drive hundreds of miles back to a coastal town to return pinched pebbles.
Crackington Haven, a beach near Bude in Cornwall, became the centre of a countrywide debate about preserving nature and coastal erosion when a man was found to have pocketed some of its stones. While this may have been a forgivable offense elsewhere, the authorities in the Cornish retreat decided something must be done.
Local Tory councillor Barry Jordan explained that the holidaymaker was tracked down, contacted and told to bring the pilfered rocks back.
He told the Mirror: "We caught two or three people. We do have a problem with pebbles. One guy kindled sent the pebbles back. The pebbles are like a barrier and they stop the water coming into the haven."
He explained: "We have hundreds of people a year coming to Crackington Haven, and if everybody took 10 stones how many years would it take to clear those stones from the beach? If it took 10 years then in 10 years' time the beach would no longer exist as the waves would have just crashed through. Those pebbles play a massive part in protecting the haven.
On one occasion a pebble pincher was caught by tracking down his car. Barry explained: "We contacted the DVLA, they gave us his name and address. We wrote to him very politely, and he came all the way back from the Midlands and brought them back. And that's what we would do again."
Councillor Jordan first reported the story in 2018, when attention was drawn to the large signs on the beach warning daytrippers away from slipping a stone or two into their pocket.
In March 2024 he told the Mirror that the signs remain as does the problem, although fewer people are seen taking stones now than before the pandemic.
"We do catch people occasionally taking stones off the beach. I'm also a dog warden, so I am down there quite often in the summer. People ring me if they see people taking stones. They come down with buckets and bags and things like that," he added.
"They put them around their fires at the campsite. This year, because of the weather, there are fewer people. I did catch someone the other month, but it turned out they were just picking up drift wood. I've no problem with that. We can issue a fixed penalty notice, but we've never done that. The people we've seen have been very good. I've not had anyone be angry with me. Usually they're good as gold."
Jennifer Dixon, a local artist and teacher, wrote on the Crackington Haven Appreciation Group on Facebook that she wasn't such a fan of the signs. She said: "It's a shame that we must have such a problem with stone theft that the beach is now littered with large red and yellow signs threatening prosecution. They are so darn ugly on our beautiful beach... It seems very heavy-handed to have that many signs."
While Crackington Haven and its protectors have clearly taken the preservation of their beach more seriously than most, taking stones from all public beaches in the UK is banned under the Coastal Protection Act of 1949.
"It’s a seemingly innocent pastime, however taking home seashells or pebbles from the beach could see you landed with a hefty fine if you’re caught," Law.ac writes. "This is laid out in the Coast Protection Act 1949, which says it’s against the law to remove any natural materials from UK beaches. Although it may seem perfectly okay, and will most likely go unnoticed, if you are caught committing this offence you could be fined up to £1,000."
Back in 2019 a vigilante beach enthusiast - perhaps feeling that the law was not working as enough of a deterrent - erected a laminated sign on Amroth beach in Pembrokeshire. It read: "The stones on this beach are part of Amroth's vital sea defences. Removal is a criminal offence. Offenders are liable to prosecution."
Two years ago Angus Council in Scotland warned people away from thieving rocks. "The greatest threat comes from the deliberate plundering of our coastal resources by people who remove sand, stones, cobbles and pebbles by the bag load for use in their gardens. Some areas in the UK have reported this type of activity happening on an industrial scale," the authority wrong on Facebook.
Coastal erosion is no small issue in the UK. It impacts large parts of the country, with more than 28% of the coastline of England and Wales experiencing erosion greater than 10cm per year.
With sea levels rising and weather events becoming more extreme as global heating continues, more work will need to be done to protect Britain's coastal settlements from the waves, as they eat away at the beaches and cliffs which form the edge of the Isles.
The Committee on Climate Change has identified 520,000 properties in England, including 370,000 homes, in areas at future risk of damage from coastal flooding. In the worst-case scenario – which excludes the likelihood of building more sea defences or other mitigating measures – British Geological Survey data suggest that one million properties are at potential risk from being inundated by seawater by 2050.
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