Viking Bay was left with covered in litter after beachgoers swarmed to the coast during yesterday's heatwave.

Financial advisor Marc Smelt, who lives in Broadstairs, took to social media site Twitter to post a picture of the littered sands on the town’s beach.

He said: “Swathes of rubbish covered the beach. It was absolutely disgusting.

“Broadstairs is meant to be the jewel in Thanet’s crown.

“I realise people should clear up their own rubbish but the bins were all overflowing.

“Usually there is a tractor down clearing the sand but there was only one lad there.”

Mr Smelt, who walks from the lighthouse to Dumpton most mornings, said that just one council worker was left to clear hundreds of people’s rubbish from the sand after designated rubbish bins were full.

He said the man was doing a good job and a few members of the public were down there lending a hand.

Thanet District Council said that they did not anticipate the rise of people visiting the beaches on Wednesday.

Gavin Waite, director of operational services, said: “Although hot weather was forecast the number of people who enjoyed our beaches exceeded our expectations despite it being mid-week and term-time. Large numbers of people also stayed on the beach longer than is usual at this time of year.

“As a result, first thing on Thursday 2 July we implemented extra resources, as we would at the height of the summer season.

“This will mean permanent crews on the beaches cleaning from 6am to 8pm, as well as an additional mobile crew who will be called in to areas, as and when they are needed.

“We now have more crews cleaning beaches and emptying bins and an extra vehicle to support this.

“These resources will be monitored regularly to ensure they are distributed to meet demand and that if we experience cooler or rainy days we can adjust our services.

“Our aim is to keep Thanet clean and beautiful for us all to enjoy.”

A new beach cleaning schedule and new beach bins are some of the recent initiatives introduced by the council.