Porthtowan is a Cornish village in a valley leading to a beautiful Blue Flag beach, popular with visitors and locals and supporting a small business community.

The age-old, natural low-lying flat 'towans', of sand covered with maritime grasses and plants, above the beach has been bulldozed away, leaving a bare sand heap forever blowing on the wind and into the village.

In January, in a futile attempt to refix the sand in place, the Council invited people from all over Cornwall to plant their dead Christmas trees into the sand heap, as a supposedly eco-friendly community day out. Apparently it was not only domestic discards, as some trees had retail labels from national DIY stores still attached.

Many of the trees blew away in the winter gales, littering the village roads and gardens. But sadly, a large number remain. Sharp splinters of wood and pine needles are scattered throughout the golden sand, creating a real hazard for bare feet. Windblown litter is tangling in the trees which also provide an ideal canine convenience.

The result as the Easter holidays begin, is that a once beautiful scene now resembles an Alice-in-Wonderland's nightmare battle defences and the view of the sea is hidden by an orange plantation of dead trees, some still with tinsel twinkling in the Spring sunshine.

Visitors are turning away disappointed and asking for directions to a prettier, more family-friendly beach. The local seaside business providers have tried to arrange a community event to tidy up the sand but were forced to cancel only the night before, when threatened with legal action unless it was cancelled.

Please sign our petition to Cornwall Council to restore our natural 'towans' that give the cove it's name, so that Porthtowan can once again can be proud of it's beauty and worthy of the Blue Flag.