BEACH hut repair workers have been blasted by angry residents for leaving behind equipment, but the council says there is still work to be done.

Earlier this year, Tendring Council engineers moved 11 beach huts from The Leas, in Frinton, in order to be able to start rebuilding a seafront support structure in March.

The empty huts were subsequently stored in a secure compound on the Greensward for what would be the duration of the works, and the promenade between The Leas and below Warley Way was also closed off.

As a result of the pandemic, however, the works did not end up getting properly underway until July, but these repairs were finished in only a couple of weeks.

But Stuart Munday, 75, a Frinton resident of 14 years, is unhappy about the fact a fenced compound has been left on the Greensward, in which there are metal railings and equipment.

“I think that most people are saddened by the lack of action, but accept this as the norm around here,” he said.

“It is become part of the landscape now, and the whole job has created a mess.

“The enclosure was quite large, but now the huts have been put back, it has gotten smaller, but now it is being used to store extra panels and other bits.

“It would be amusing if it was not such a blot on the landscape and in a conservation area too."

Tendring Council has now said the railings and equipment have been left on the site as more works are imminent and the beach hut repairs scheme is a multi-phase project.