Praise for our ‘incredible’ teams as mountains of rubbish cleared

“They are incredible – I am just so proud of them all for caring as they do, and the work they are putting in this weekend.”

The words of North East Lincolnshire Council’s Street Cleansing Team Manager John Munson as the clean-up operation continues today – as Armed Forces Weekend 2025 reaches it final day.

From Friday evening right into today, teams have worked tirelessly – much of it in scorching heat – to clear the resort end-to-end.

With colleagues from other service areas, including grounds maintenance, supporting mountains of rubbish have been swept, collected and taken away. The beach has also been cleared and raked.

Describing the situation in some areas as ‘overwhelming’ John added: “As I have said, it is incredible. They are out there, and they just do it. We’re not sure of the volumes of rubbish yet, but looking at the situation it will be more than last year.

“For most of the day yesterday someone had blocked the entrance to the Boating Lake with a vehicle, and we could do nothing but wait. Once in, there was so much rubbish but once again the team just got on with it,” he added.

Cllr Henry Hudson, North East Lincolnshire Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: “These before and after pictures show the sheer hard work that has been put in to ensure people can come into a clean resort today. I extend a huge thank you from everyone to John and his colleagues for all they have done and continue to do.”