CLOSING our beaches would be the "nail on the coffin" for the tourist and hospitality industry, a trader has said.

Fears have been raised after Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced the Government had the power to close all beaches if people flout safety restrictions, with businesses and council officers claiming it could be "disastrous" for Southend.

The warning came after Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole all declared major incidents, after services were "completely overstretched" with huge numbers of visitors during yesterday's heatwave.

Southend Council bosses have now slammed proposals to close the beach, saying that it simply can't be enforced.

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Paul Thompson, owner of Pebbles One on Marine Parade, said: "Closing the beach would be disastrous for Southend. To punish the hospitality and tourist industry who have already been hit by the virus would just be the nail in the coffin.

"Southend has been nothing like Bournemouth- people have been social distancing, I have seen myself people respecting the rules.

"Lots of companies rely on people visiting, so to treat every beach like their one would be very harsh. I hope it's just a warning."

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Ron Woodley, deputy leader of Southend Council, said: "To say that the government will close all of the beaches is just a load of hot air, it will be too hard to enforce.

"Without police having the power to send people away we can't do anything, and I won't put them or our council officers at risk by trying to separate people on the beach. We don't have enough police to make it happen."

He continued: "Although I haven't been down the beach, I suspect a lot of the people visiting are coming from outside the borough from places like London or Bedfordshire. I'd ask our local residents to stay well clear if they can."

Martin Terry, Southend Council cabinet member for community safety, says he wouldn't hesitate in declaring a major incident if the town's beaches become unsafe.

Although Southend seafront was busy yesterday, it was not deemed to be unsafe or a threat to other public services.

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Kevin Robinson, cabinet member for business, culture and tourism, added: "What I worry is that if the beaches are closed, people won't care and will visit anyway. Police and community safety teams will then have to deal with those who aren't listening- we worry there will be a reaction to this. The Government has lost the faith of the people.

"When we put the contraflow system in place we did actually consider just closing the beach, but we were advised it's not enforcible with the coast being seven miles long, so we put in place the safest option.

"We don't want them to close, we want people to be safe. Depending on how long it's for, it could devastate plans businesses have in place to re-open."