Residents have been left disgusted by the state of their seafront after thousands of people flocked to the coast this weekend.

With the sun finally shining on Kent, the beach in Broadstairs was packed.

But last night, smashed glass, plastic bottles and drinks cans were left abandoned along the sandy stretch, with volunteers doing their best to clean up the mess.

Thanet resident Courtney Nina Herlihy had attempted to take her family for an evening stroll at the Kent beauty spot, but was left saddened by the state of her town.

She said: “I absolutely love Broadstairs, and it was a shame to see my hometown beach look like this.

“I’ve never seen it this bad, so I was quite shocked.

“The stairs were all full of rubbish and broken glass, too.

“For starters, whoever litters should be ashamed of themselves and the poor guy picking it all up, hats off and thank you, but it really shouldn’t have to be like this.

“Note to self, don’t take kids on a nice walk when the weather reaches its highs on a weekend. Honestly, these towns are becoming a joke now.”

Commenting on social media, Saira Hand said: “That’s disgusting that people have left all that rubbish.

“They should be highly ashamed of themselves, and until you can respect our beaches, don’t bother coming back.”

Lisa Rhodes suggested that Thanet District Council should consider charging for use of the district's beaches, adding: “That would make people think twice!”

Debs Barber also commented: “It’s so sad children can’t play safely in the sand anymore and walking barefoot is a thing of the past.”

Kim Roberts added that the state of the beach was an annual occurrence, with people needing to take better care of Thanet’s coastline.

Additional dispersal orders were granted over the weekend, as well as stop and search powers, in a bid to crack down on rowdy behaviour in the district.

On Friday, the powers were put in place for 48 hours following trouble in Broadstairs, covering a stretch along the coastline from Dumpton Bay to Joss Bay.

Another has been issued for parts of Margate to try to stem antisocial behaviour.

Police say problems are being caused by “a small minority of young people in some public areas, including the town and beach areas”.

Huge crowds also found themselves caught in congestion on what was the hottest day of the year yesterday.

There were reports of delays along the M2 as motorists flooded back from the coast, with traffic reduced to 20mph.

Conditions are set to be slightly cooler today, but the temperature is still expected to reach the mid to high-20s.