Pebble hunting and why do we have to buy them from B&Q

Allira * escaped*
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"Said pebble warden would also be required to cruise the neighbourhood checking front gardens for paths and features where pebbles from the beach have been purloined."
"Uniform provided."

I knew hence felt very guilty taking two very pretty pebbles from a beach.

The council have no money either to pay for a full time pebble warden!
"An opportunity has arisen for someone who enjoys being a jobsworth. The post includes strolling around local beaches, arresting children for filling buckets with shells and pebbles then attempting to loot them from the beach".

10/10 for your observation skills Primrose!
I did my usual beach walk with the dogs this morning, (including coffee stop!), and specifically hunted out the sign at the harbour end. It clearly states not to remove beach materials. Nothing about fines though.
I'd never noticed it before in 40 years living here on and off.

Dont worry sazzl, this is on our town page ...

police are unlikely to take action against visitors taking one pebble as a souvenir.
Youngsters filling small beach buckets with pebbles to take home will not face prosecution.

Actually, we never see a policeman round here anyway, so I'm not sure who would stop anyone? The council have no money either to pay for a full time pebble warden!

sazz1, of course it isn't, otherwise there would be scores of children in front of the juvenile courts every year. I do not think there has been one case of this.

My DGC collect shells on the beach. Is that illegal?

Ask yourself, who is going to prosecute you if you do take a few, the courts have backlogs lasting years for crimes that are actually serious! As someone who has some knowledge of the justice system from a professional viewpoint, I can assure you it would not be in the public interest to bring such a case.
Enjoy your memento's.

So what happens when the tides regularly wash up pebbles onto our seafront? Can I rush along with a shovel and legally scoop them all up, because there's no way they going back into the sea on their own? 🤣

DamaskRose

Franski

What about drfitwood...?

I think above the water line is ok but don’t quote me.
I have never, in all my nearly 71 years, seen a sign saying that Primrose.

Sprry, I am quoting you to say I agree with ypu. I have seen them on beaches, where you musn't pick them up, but not otherwise.

Franski

What about drfitwood...?

I think above the water line is ok but don’t quote me.
I have never, in all my nearly 71 years, seen a sign saying that Primrose.

What about drfitwood...?

Lallykins

my first post, so if its in the wrong place, apologies

I love beachcombing, and since I were small, as everyone else does, a shell here, or a small pebble there, would go into my pocket as a memento.
But we all know, that its illegal (here in the UK anyway), as there is a Law forbidding it!
So I ask,
if we aren't allowed to take a few 'trinket sized' pebbles, then why are we allowed to buy them?
for instance, in a seaside souvenir shop, made into cute decorations with the holiday town etched onto it.
Huge bags of them, slate, stones, pebbles of varying size and colour, from all parts of the country, for our garden scaping or home decorating?
I would like to know the difference between 1000 holiday makers taking a couple of stones, and a big company taking tonnes of the stuff and bagging it up, making a profit, while we could be fined up to 1000£ for taking one home?

Because they are mined and processed from LEGAL sites. That is why. They dont just pluck them willy nilly from the countryside.

It is illegal in Denmark too, as erosion of the beaches is a problem here, so don't do it here if you come on holiday to Denmark.

And there are no signs telling you that it is illegal, because in this country everyone who is legally adult is responsible for knowing the laws they are obliged to respect.
'

I've taken loads of sand away over the years, usually in my socks cos I could never get it off my feet

Yes, my friend thought it served her father right for being a miser! It cost him far more to repair the car than buying rocks.

J52

“*It is illegal to remove pebbles and other material from a beach in the UK.
Under section 18 of the Coastal Protection Act 1949, the removal of any natural material such as sand and pebbles from public beaches in the UK is illegal.
s18(1) states: Subject to the provisions of this section, and notwithstanding anything contained in any other enactment, it shall be unlawful to excavate or remove any materials (other than minerals more than fifty feet below the surface) on, under or forming part of any portion of the seashore to which the provisions of this section are applied.*

Just to be clear. I’m sure many of us are guilty of 😲

I do niot think this would be taken to allpy to someone taking home the odd pebble or shell from a beach. It applies to the industrial exploitation of shoreline resources.

However, there are specific beaches, like those the OP mentions, on the Jurassic coast, and elsewhere where for, usually geological conservation reasons, people ar not aallowed to take materials of the beahc.

The same is true in other countries. I can remember a beach in France, where there was such a ban - and notices saying so. The beach was covered in beautiful rounded pebbles, just the right size for doorstops, paperweights etc. However I haven't seen such notices on other beaches where the stones etc were notr eamarkable.

When I was a girl people used to take sand and pebbles away from the beach in trucks.
It was always frowned on but I've no idea if anyone had been charged with anything.

The other reason that it is illegal is because we pay millions to build up our sea defences with rocks, pebbles etc.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202505/medium-e4dr1w-img-8595.png https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202505/medium-9y6482-img-8596.jpeg

We take the children to the beach when we’re looking at Andy Goldsworthy art, but they have to leave their work there.
SueDonim, maybe your friend’s father should have done the second pic instead.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202505/medium-2zldmb-budleighpebbles-orig.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202505/medium-57mtcz-top-1.jpg

That's funny, SueDonim. Serves him right probably!
Talking of projects, some people here, as a past time, design all kinds of features on our beach with the pebbles. During covid times there was a very simple but striking NHS one.

Thank you for the clarification, Lathyrus.

Escaped your post triggered a memory from years ago, when a friend’s father discovered some large boulders at a quiet beach. He decided they would be perfect for his rock garden project and loaded up his car with a number of them. Karma intervened when he tried to drive off - the car was so heavy that the suspension collapsed under the strain!!

J52

“*It is illegal to remove pebbles and other material from a beach in the UK.
Under section 18 of the Coastal Protection Act 1949, the removal of any natural material such as sand and pebbles from public beaches in the UK is illegal.
s18(1) states: Subject to the provisions of this section, and notwithstanding anything contained in any other enactment, it shall be unlawful to excavate or remove any materials (other than minerals more than fifty feet below the surface) on, under or forming part of any portion of the seashore to which the provisions of this section are applied.*

Just to be clear. I’m sure many of us are guilty of 😲

I've known that for years.

I have been guilty of taking a few pretty pebbles from beaches over many years but still hope no-one has seen me.
My DC used to paint them.

We bought ours from B&Q!!

I thought everyone knew it was illegal. Most beaches have signs to that effect.

I know taking seaweed washed up is illegal