ALCOHOL has been banned from Coogee Beach after it was trashed by Christmas Day revellers who turned the Sydney hotspot into a dump.

Bottles, wrapping paper and lunch leftovers were scattered along the grass picnic area and litter bugs were dubbed “un-Australian”.

Randwick City Council was left with 15 tonnes of rubbish to clean and has now banned alcohol for the whole summer as a result of the “disgraceful” events at Dunningham and Goldstein Reserves.

Thousands flocked to Coogee to celebrate Christmas Day and council said there was also a spate of alcohol-induced incidents from backpackers.

The ban will be effective from Thursday, deterring chaotic New Year’s Eve parties.

“Only a few weeks ago, council took affirmative action to restrict alcohol in both Dunningham and Goldstein Reserves from 12pm to 4pm each day to reduce the number of alcohol related incidents,” Randwick mayor Noel D’Souza said.

“However, the poor and inappropriate behaviour of a few on Christmas Day have forced council to introduce a total alcohol ban for the area for summer.

“The public outrage to the devastation of the parks and beach itself on Christmas Day has been quite phenomenal.

“The clear message we’ve received is that we need to give the beach and nearby parks back to all people to enjoy peacefully and safely.

“It is disappointing we have to take such a strong stance, but we need to reassure the community that they can feel safe when visiting and enjoying the jewel in the crown of Randwick City, Coogee Beach.”

Photos of the beach area after Christmas celebrations were shared on social media and one man commented saying people were “absolute pigs”.

“This is disgraceful, what is going on with people, no respect for anything or anyone,” David Seddon said.

This year the Randwick City Council vowed to put tighter alcohol restrictions on people celebrating Christmas Day at Coogee’s beachside.

In a release issued in the lead-up to Christmas, the council said alcohol consumption would be restricted to just four hours in the day to increase safety and respond to increasing police concerns about anti-social behaviour at the backpacker hotspot.

Randwick mayor Noel D’Souza said “we have taken a proactive step to the increasing number of complaints related to intoxicated people in these areas and we believe that restricting the hours for alcohol consumption will help to reduce incidents”.

But people commented on Randwick City Council’s social media, saying the new restrictions weren’t enough.

“Dear Randwick Council, something needs to be done about Coogee Beach and the ongoing backpacker taking over and destroying our environment,” Alison Garratt wrote on Facebook.

“Locals cannot enjoy the beach, can’t take our kids for a walk without dodging drunks. It’s become unpleasant, dirty and dangerous.”

Another person commented on Randwick City Council’s Facebook page, informing them there were “pissed idiots everywhere at Coogee”.

Many have blamed backpackers for the mess and Sydney local Zachary Knowles wrote on Facebook he used to feel sorry for them on Christmas Day, but now it was a different story.

“Seeing that they trash our country’s beautiful beaches like they did (Christmas Day), it has stained my view of them being here. Sorry but littering is disgusting. Do not come to Australia to trash it,” he said.

Mr Knowles was not alone in his view, others called them “filthy”, “ferals” and “grubs”,

The beach was packed with barely room to move and during the Christmas Day celebrations, a rave broke out and revellers continued to party into the evening.

Thousands in Santa hats and bikinis sung, danced and drank alcohol in the packed vicinity of Coogee Beach.

Some wrote on social media it was the best Christmas ever while others complained about the state of the beach.

The crowd at Coogee continued to grow over the course of the day as temperatures soared.

“This kind of behaviour is really disappointing as unfortunately it impacts on families and locals who want to enjoy this beautiful part of Sydney without incident,” Mr D’Souza said.

“Randwick City Council has worked very hard to take measures to reduce alcohol-related incidents in the area including recently introducing new alcohol restrictions in Dunningham Reserve and Goldstein Reserve to 12pm-4pm.

“Our rangers, our Lifeguards and our garbos work really hard to keep the area clean and safe — and while we commend the NSW Police in helping to manage some of these alcohol-induced incidents, it is evident we need even more police on site to help reduce these incidents in the area and keep Coogee safe and enjoyable for everyone.

“We have worked hard to tidy the area today and ensure Coogee is clean for everyone to use.

We also would like to remind everyone to please pick up any rubbish with you when you leave so we can keep our beautiful beaches and beachside parks clean for everyone to enjoy.”