Tourists and locals alike have been flocking to Brighton beach |for years and it was a particularly popular holiday destination in the early 19th century, when George IV was a resident at the Royal Pavilion.

Sadly, this flood of visitors has brought with it a continual torrent of litter and destruction.

Despite the rubbish bins situated on the lower promenade, visitors have continued to leave their waste strewn among the pebbles.

Local trader Betty Wells highlighted the situation, pointing to the rubbish left outside her seafront business in 1979.

The volume of litter , so close to the pavement, showed that the disregard for proper rubbish disposal was just as rife then as it is today.

Thankfully, over the years there have been numerous volunteers willing to give up their valuable time and effort to help make the beach clean again.

Brighton Corporation workers in 1962 swapped their pens for picks when they ventured out at 6am one morning to tidy up their beloved beach.

The men scoured the beach with gusto, determined to help collect rubbish including old newspapers and cardboard left from carelessly turned over beach bins.

It hasn’t all been without gain though as many people have taken advantage of the mess over the years.

Treasure hunters have often taken to the pebbled sprawl with their trusty metal detectors to reap the harvest of treats beneath its surface.

The Argus reported on one such beachcomber, Nick Sole, in January 1993.

He scoured Brighton beach most days in the early 90s armed with a trusty metal detector and a cigarette, sometimes earning up to £40 a day from his finds during the summer months.