TWO more picnic benches have been burnt after thoughtless beach-goers put lit barbecues on them.

The surface of the two benches, at Thorney Bay Beach, have been completely ruined.

Ironically, a sign on the top of one of them warning against lighting barbecues on them has also been burnt.

Sadly, this is not the first time it has happened, with another memorial bench being destroyed earlier this year.

That turned out to be a genuine mistake by a local woman, who made a large donation to the group to make up for the destruction of the bench.

John Webb, member of Canvey Bay Watch which looks after the beach, said: “We absolutely need to come up with a solution.

“People are ignoring the signs.

“We have signs on the benches saying they are not suitable for barbecues and people are just ignoring them.

“People have paid good money to have a bench as a tribute to their loved ones.

“One of the barbecues had been put on top of the memorial plaque on one of the benches and has burnt it.

“That is like desecrating someone’s grave.”

The heat of the barbecues melts the plastic surface and means the benches have to be repaired, which is costly for the voluntary group.

He added that they were trying to think of a way to keep the benches safe from being melted.

Mr Webb said: “People are not going to stop barbecuing.

“It won’t matter if we have plastic or wooden benches, they will still be damaged by the barbecues.

“We couldn’t consider getting concrete ones as they would just look unsightly.

“We are thinking of getting metal plates to put over them to protect them.

“I don’t know if people are just ignorant that the barbecues will damage the surface or if they just have a few beers and then don’t care.

“We can’t close off the beach overnight, although I am not sure if that is when this is happening or whether it is during the evening.”

Both beaches on Canvey - including Concord Beach - have been victim of vandalism and graffiti this year.

Plants have been stolen from tubs, bins set on fire and graffiti written on the seawalls which are being painted blue with murals.

Mr Webb said: “We have to keep going back to fix things which is stopping us getting on and making progress.”