UK seaside town ‘gutted’ as iconic beach feature vanishes

Residents in a popular UK seaside town have been left “gutted” and “sad” after a much-loved piece of driftwood named “Lizzy the logness monster” was swept away. Despite surviving several storms, Lizzy succumbed to the elements in Porthcawl, Bridgend County, on Saturday morning. After first washing up in March 2024, the giant piece of driftwood became a beloved attraction in the town. 

Soon after, it was turned into an “icon” of the town, and many local residents took it upon themselves to stop Lizzy from floating back out to sea. In September 2024, a campaign was launched to save the resort’s mascot from the strong tides. However, many months later, the residents of Porthcawl have been left saddened after their battle to keep Lizzy was finally lost to the stormy weather.

Hundreds of Lizzy fans have expressed their disappointment in the driftwood disappearing online, with some describing the feature as an “icon” of the town.

Steve West, 66, from Porthcawl, went down to the seafront to see the remains of Lizzy the logness monster washed up on the sand. He told the BBC: “While it may sound silly to some, as it’s a piece of driftwood, it has captured the imagination of the town.”

He added: “It’s very sad and it will be very strange without Lizzy.

“The kids love it, they love taking photos with it. It has given a lot of people a lot of smiles in the 18 months it has been here.

“What is the chance of it landing on the seafront in that way and looking like a lizard, it’s a strange coincidence.”

Lizzy’s incredible size led to it surviving multiple powerful storms such as Storm Bert and Storm Darragh.

According to the local tourism office, Visit Porthcawl, the driftwood was 9.38m (30ft 9in) long and 2.46m (8ft 1in) tall.

However, Steve explained how the weather on Saturday morning was particularly bad, as the tide was high enough to sweep Lizzy out to sea.

Chris Kitney, 39, added that the driftwood became an integral part of the community, and saw it every morning.

“People were constantly coming to visit Lizzy and having photos with her,” he said. Chris added that there were about 1,000 signatures from visitors who all strived to save Lizzy.

Despite the driftwood being swept away, Chris said he “would put money on Lizzy being swept back up on the shore”.