UK beaches to introduce Covid marshals and drones ahead of summer due to fears of overcrowding and anti-social behaviour

BEACHES across the UK are to introduce new schemes including drones and Covid marshals to avoid overcrowding this summer.

Britain is expecting a huge boom in domestic holidays due to travel restrictions abroad, with parts of the country even selling out for the peak summer months.

Bournemouth beach has been the first to announce their new measures to avoid huge crowds and abuse which led to a major incident to be declared last summer.

More than 500,000 people tried to flock to Bournemouth beach on the hottest day of the year last June.

According to the , the new scheme includes flying drones for crowd control, Covid marshals and a park-and-ride scheme to prevent gridlock and busy roads.

The local council said the new measures were being introduced to "cope better across the resort with the anticipated surge in demand," adding: "Peak days will be managed like a major event."

The app introduced last year which showed the most crowded parts of the beach will also be reintroduced to help visitors social distance.

Other beaches popular with Brits are looking at ways to avoid the same problems as last year.

Dorset beaches are currently planning how to control huge crowds, such as Durdle Door which was so busy last year that it led to police closing the beach.

Margate beach is also looking at ways to avoid similar problems to last year which included anti-social behaviour and littering.

Devon and Cornwall police have called for 500 more officers to be able to cope with demand this summer as staycationers are expected to flock to the beaches.