VISITORS to Barry Island today were greeted by a piece of sand art 50 metres tall and 100 metres wide delivering a simple message: bin it!

The message, laid out on Tuesday, August 20, is part of a campaign being rolled out by the Vale council to coincide with the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Vale council leader, Cllr Neil Moore said: “August Bank Holiday is typically one of the busiest weekends of the year for Barry Island. We want to make sure that this year it is also one of the cleanest.

“A sunny day can attract tens of thousands of people to the resort. The vast majority dispose of their litter responsibly but sadly there are still some who do not.

“It is with them in mind that we have made the message as easy to understand as possible. Two simple words. Bin it!

“There are no excuses for not using these and we are making it easier than ever for people to find them with new signs and banners being installed this week.”

The artwork is the first of three that will be created over the remainder of the summer season and is the work of local artist Din Evans.

The council scales up its waste management operation at the resort during the summer.

The beach is raked and a litter pick carried out every morning, while extra litter picking is undertaken on weekend evenings.

Volunteers also now organise their own litter picks on some evenings.

Regular announcements are also made over the public address system to remind people to dispose of their waste responsibly.

In addition to this the council has installed water fountains to help people cut down on single-use plastics.