Permit plan to end cockle 'chaos'

Cockle pickers have until the end of May to register

Limits are being placed on the number of cocklers allowed on a beach to try and avoid the "chaotic" scenes of two years ago.

More than 1,000 people and 100 vehicles descended on Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire, in August 2005.

Some locals criticised the influx and called for better management.

The beds have been closed since but are likely to open this summer, although only to gatherers who register and are awarded permits.

Carmarthenshire Council's head of public protection Philip Davies said 2005 saw people travel from all over the UK to harvest cockles at Llansteffan, Ferryside and Cefn Sidan.

He said the council and South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee had drawn-up new rules to limit numbers.

"Gatherers from Deeside, the Wirral, Morecambe, Cumbria, Scotland and Lincolnshire all visit the area when the fishery opens - this year we've asked them to register their interest," he added.

"We've had to change vehicle access routes to the beds so numbers of vehicles using the foreshore will be reduced. We also want to ensure gatherers have undergone some safety training before they arrive."