UK beaches could ban visitors from drinking alcohol during the day this summer in a bid to stop boozy fights and yobbish behaviour.
Brits flocked to seaside towns last year after the pandemic halted foreign travel but this also led to large crowds and bust ups at popular resorts.
In June a mass brawl 'involving 200 people' took place at a beauty spot in Exmouth on the hottest day of the year as horrified witnesses looked on.
In Brighton several fights broke out in August including a brawl where women traded blows after a heated argument exploded in front of shocked sunseekers.
Witnesses and security staff were forced to pull the women apart during the heated fight which saw them yanking at each other's hair and tumbling to the ground near the seafront.
Councillors in Hartlepool plans to ban people from drinking alcohol across parks and a seaside promenade.
But while visitors to parks will now not be allowed alcohol at any time it will be partially permitted at the seaside resort to help the night-time economy, Teeside Live reports.
Under the new rules drinking alcohol will be banned from 6am until 8pm from next month, and will run until the beginning of October.
Anyone who breaks the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) will face fines up to £1,000.
Cllr Sue Little said: "It's the anti-social behaviour aspects of the drinking that we're trying to enforce, it's when people start urinating all over the place, exposing themselves in front of families walking along the prom.
"That's not acceptable and that's the kind of behaviour that we're trying to stop in Seaton, we're a lovely family resort.
"It's the nuisance that the alcohol causes that residents in Seaton are wanting to stop, we had about 12 weeks of hell in Seaton with people urinating everywhere and exposing themselves, we don't want that in Seaton, we don't want that in Hartlepool."
Councillor Marjorie James said that she hoped the new rules meant families would be able to enjoy the beach while the area's night-time economy could be safeguarded.
"The fact is the night time economy is something slightly different and I think the hours are reasonable," she said.
"It would see the best of both worlds, it would allow for the evening economy to take place after 8pm during the summer, but it would protect children and families before 8pm."
While other councils have yet to bring in a similar PSPO some local authorities have looked at other measures to try and prevent issues that happened last year.
Bournemouth Council could use flying drones to control crowds, implement Covid marshals and introduce a park-and-ride scheme to prevent local roads from being jammed with traffic.
The new measures are being looked at after more than 500,000 visitors tried to flock to Bournemouth beach on the hottest day of the year last June.
The local authority said the proposals will help to "cope better across the resort with the anticipated surge in demand".
Beaches in Dorset are also planning to bring in new measures to control huge crowds that visit popular beauty spots like Durdle Door.
Last year the beach was heaving so much that police were forced to close it.
Margate beach is also looking at ways to prevent anti-social behaviour and littering which it endured last year.
Devon and Cornwall police have called for 500 more officers to be able to cope with demand this summer as people are expected to head there due to the current overseas travel restrictions.
