Eastbourne Family Arrives At Beach With Enough Equipment To Establish Permanent Settlement

By Barry Beakman, Senior Local Correspondent

EASTBOURNE — An Eastbourne family visiting the beach has arrived carrying sufficient equipment to survive independently on the coastline for several months.

Witnesses watched as the family unloaded four folding chairs, three windbreaks, two cool boxes, blankets, buckets, spades, towels, inflatable toys, a parasol and something resembling a small dining table.

The operation began at 9.40am.

By 10.15am, approximately half the vehicle had been emptied.

"We're only staying until about four," said father Mark Thompson while carrying his third bag towards the beach.

His wife had already begun establishing a perimeter using two striped windbreaks.

Nearby beachgoers watched nervously as the territory expanded.

"They started with about six square feet," said witness David Morris.

"They've got a frontage now."

Children were dispatched to collect stones while adults assembled chairs and attempted to prevent a parasol from entering the English Channel.

At approximately 10.50am, sandwiches were unpacked.

Nobody was yet hungry.

By midday, the family's encampment included separate areas for food, towels and "wet stuff."

One neighbouring couple quietly moved fifteen feet further down the beach.

The family began packing up shortly after 3.30pm.

The operation took 55 minutes.

Upon reaching the car, their youngest child announced he had left his bucket behind.