Police called as digger scoops up stones on busy beach

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

Concerns have been raised after a digger was used to scoop stones from a busy beach as scores of people enjoyed the August sunshine.

The digger was positioned in front of a partially-collapsed boundary wall at the rear of Caswell beach. It lifted the stones into gabion baskets which were also in front of the wall.

The wall separates the garden of Caswell resident and entrepreneur Chris Kiley from the Blue Flag beach in Gower.

Mr Kiley said the section in question had collapsed and needed repairing. He wasn’t operating the digger but said he showed a police officer who’d been alerted to the activity photos of the wall and that, when asked, had put a stop to the work.

Dry conditions

Mr Kiley attributed the wall problem to the prolonged dry conditions as something similar had happened, he said, to another area of the structure after a long spell of dry weather around 15 years ago.

He said he’d taken the same action then as he had done on this occasion on Saturday, August 16. “It wasn’t contentious then – probably because it wasn’t such a nice day,” he said. “People think: ‘What’s going on?’ and get their phones out.”

One woman who was on the beach at the time said the work was attracting attention particularly as people were moving back due to the incoming tide. “The beach was packed,” said the woman, who asked not to be named. “The police were there.”

A South Wales Police spokesman said officers were called to Caswell beach at around midday on August 16 following a report of a digger being used to remove stones.

Planning permission

“Officers have contacted the local authority in order to confirm that planning permission has been given for the work to take place and are awaiting a response,” he said.

Swansea Council said a site visit would take place.

“The council has been made aware of works being carried out at the northern edge of the beach where it joins with a private boundary,” said a council spokesman. “We are in the process of looking at the nature of these works to establish if further action is required.”

Mr Kiley, managing director and founder of supermarket chain CK Foodstores, said of the work needed to the wall: “Nobody is going to do it but myself.”