Why locals are breaking into their town's beach

Sue Cruse remembers family days out to Newhaven's West Beach as a child.

"It was just the most magical place ever," the 75-year-old recalls.

"There was beautiful golden sand, lovely soft waves... and even a funfair with a few kiosks.

"We adored seeing the ferry and then waiting for the bigger waves that would roll in afterwards. It gave us hours of fun."

But the beach - one of the only sandy ones in Sussex - has been closed to the public since 2008.

"I am so sad that people cannot enjoy it as we did," Cruse added.

"Before I go off the planet, I would love to see children playing there."

Though a long-running issue, public access to West Beach - which is owned by a French company - has gained renewed attention during the recent heatwave.

Sussex Police received several reports between 21 and 26 June of padlocks being broken or damaged, allowing people to access the beach.

Crowds of people were pictured sunbathing on the sand and swimming in the sea, with one woman telling the BBC it had been "packed".

But recent events there have also taken a darker turn.

East Sussex County councillor Lesley Boniface said staff at the nearby port, which manages the beach, have been verbally abused and sent death threats.

"We all want the beach open," she told BBC Radio Sussex. "But there are ways of going about it. This really does not help our cause."

Meanwhile, a National Coastwatch Institution camera overlooking the beach was allegedly shot and destroyed with an air gun.

When the BBC visited the scene on Friday, the gate to the beach had been welded shut.

But how did we get here?

In 1984, Margaret Thatcher's government privatised Newhaven Port, which contained the West Beach.

It was sold to its current owners Société d'Économie Mixte Locale de Coopération Transmanche - a French public-private partnership - in 2001, though it is run day-to-day by the UK-registered Newhaven Port Authority (NPA).

NPA has told the BBC that West Beach is closed because it is "dangerous".

"We have a duty to put public safety first and ask everyone to respect the restrictions that remain in place," a spokesperson said.

Concerns have been raised about the safety of the steps to the beach, while the NPA previously said the walls were in a "dangerous condition".

However, the BBC has spoken to several people from Newhaven who supported reopening the beach, despite the safety concerns.

"It is disgusting," said resident Linda Meurig, 78. "Rebuild the steps and let people use it."

Natalie Mellora added that the security measures were ineffective as people would "always make a way to go on their own beach".

She warned they also risked harming people who tried getting around them.

Multiple calls have been made to bring the West Beach into public ownership following the spate of break-ins.

Bertie Taylor, a local photographer, said that reopening the beach could help Newhaven, which he called a "diamond in the rough".

"The town centre is particularly run down and lacking much-needed life," he said.

"I feel that opening the beach will drastically change Newhaven's fortunes for the better and bring back a sense of community that it desperately needs."

James MacCleary, MP for Lewes, said he had campaigned for years to restore public access to the sandy beach.

He said when he was leader of Lewes District Council there were "serious negotiations" to buy it.

"We got a long way, but sadly those talks collapsed at a late stage."

There was also a protracted legal battle to get the beach registered as a village green, which would have given the public a right to use it recreationally.

However, this was rejected by the Supreme Court in 2015.

MacCleary said he had made a number of practical suggestions to the port authority to ensure public access, including limited access on certain days, trial summer openings and offers from local authorities to help meet the costs of access and safety measures.

"Unfortunately, they have remained unmoved and inflexible in their position," he added.

But he said that local people had "not forgotten West Beach", adding they "still see it as theirs".

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, X, and Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Sussex on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.