Brawl breaks out on seafront as drinkers flocked to beach to enjoy glorious sunshine and ignore coronavirus measures
A FURIOUS brawl broke out on the seafront in Brighton over the weekend as boozy Brits flocked to beaches to enjoy the glorious sunshine.
Drinkers were snapped ignoring social distancing measures in the sizzling hot weather as tempers flared in the popular tourist spot.
Pictures show the two women break into a full-on fight after a heated argument in the 22C sunshine.
Passersby and security staff are seen piling in to stop the brawl as the two women pull at each other's hair and tumble to the floor.
An observer said: "Suddenly a minor disagreement erupted into a full-scale fight with the women trading blows.
"Drinkers and bystanders began cheering and clapping and people were filming the fight on their phones. The behaviour of the women was shocking but the people cheering it on were disgusting.
"The fight then spilled over to another area with both women grappling and punching each other on the floor.
The behaviour of the women was shocking but the people cheering it on were disgusting
A witness who saw the brawl at the seafront in Brighton
"Eventually the single security worker, who was not wearing a mask, managed to separate the pair."
The seafront in Brighton where the fight broke out was also seen heaving with sunseekers over the weekend, with outdoor pubs and bars packed with punters - many of whom appeared to break social distancing rules by standing close together.
A huge crowd of holidaymakers were also seen spilling through Brighton railway station at midday yesterday, reports.
Brighton and Hove Council were even forced to on Friday dissuading tourists from coming to the popular seaside spot amidst fears over social distancing.
A spokesperson said: "We're concerned about the number of people in the city.
"If you're not already here, please don't travel to the city today."
Other pictures show Brighton beach strewn with rubbish left by revellers on Saturday, prompting the council that there is "no excuse to leave rubbish on the beach".
It comes as other local councils in popular seaside spots expressed dismay at the behaviour of Brits travelling to the areas on their holidays.
Deputy leader of Cornwall Council Adam Paynter said today that locals were fearful that the surge in tourism could have an impact on the region's infection rate.
Cornwall has seen "unprecedented" numbers of visitors flocking to its beaches - leaving some locals too scared to leave their homes.
He told LBC: "It is feeling quite busy, it's difficult to know exactly where it is numbers-wise.
"Clearly we've still got a very low number of cases of coronavirus but obviously residents want to keep it that way."
Mr Paynter also slammed "ignorant" tourists who refused to wear a face covering.
He added: "I've heard two different incidents where people have been overheard saying: "Well, I'm not going to wear a mask. I came down here to get away from all of that".
"I think that's pretty ignorant thinking that coronavirus doesn't exist down here."
Other beaches across England were also packed today as Brits made the most of the blistering heat.
Bournemouth beach in Dorset - which has experienced crowding problems during lockdown- was typically busy with sunseekers.
And Londoners also soaked up the hot weather, gathering outside pubs and bars in Soho.
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It comes as the Prime Minister has insisted the UK is taking "every reasonable step" to prepare for a surge in virus cases - and some lockdown easing measures have been slowed down.
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The PM said he was "squeezing the brake pedal" after the number of cases in the UK has begun to creep up - with 880 new cases on July 31, the highest since the end of June.
Sir Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser, has also warned of a "risk" of a new lockdown required come the winter.
