A holidaymaker who took pebbles from a Cornish beach was forced to travel hundreds of miles to return the souvenirs to avoid a hefty fine.

The man was traced to his home after taking a carrier bag full of stones from a beach at Crackington Haven near Bude.

He was told that he faced a fine of up to £1,000 so he decided to return to Cornwall’s Atlantic coast and put the round grey stones back where he found them.

The problem of pebble plundering at Crackington Haven hit the headlines in the late nineties when the issue was blamed on television garden re-design programmes and magazine articles.

It has become such a problem again that St Gennys parish council felt it had no choice but to set up four large signs on the small beach warning that taking pebbles was prohibited under the 1949 Coastal Protection Act and that pilferers faced prosecution.

To make it clear that it meant business the parish council also revealed that in one case a holidaymaker, who has not been named, was found and ordered to put back the stones he had taken.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Crackington Haven beach, near Bude, north Cornwall. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

The parish council says that removing the pebbles can lead to erosion and flooding. “Take away the pebbles and the haven would be damaged during every storm,” said Barry Jordan, the parish clerk.

While most local people agree that the stones need protection, the four large signs on the bijou beach has not been universally popular.

Jen Dixon, an artist resident in the area, said she loved the stones and beach. “We have some of the most beautiful rounded grey stones. In the wintertime they create a beautifully eerie steel grey look to our beach. In the summer they are a lovely contrast to our sunny blue skies and very clear water. We have such a rugged beauty here. People innocently want to take a little momento home with them.”

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She said that while she applauded the notion of finding a way of saving them, she did not like the look and tone of the signs. “They are aggressive and not the sort of image our small loveable village should portray. They aren’t in keeping with our values.”

Dixon said that educating visitors was the way forward and she approached “pebble pocketers” to encourage them not to take stones away.

She once stopped a young mother who had loaded her pram with stones and explained why it would be best to leave them where they were. “She apologised and put them back,” Dixon said.

Cornwall council said it strongly urged visitors not to remove stones or sand. A spokesperson said: “It may seem harmless but given the many thousands of visitors to Cornwall’s beaches every year every stone removed could have an impact on coastal erosion, natural flood defences and wildlife habitats.”

St Gennys parish council removed two of the signs after local people objected.