An Expensive Stones Throw From The Seaside

I live literally a stones throw from the beach and as the beach is one of the pebbly types, there are a lot of stones available to throw but i wasn't aware that the 1949 Coastal Protection Act makes it 'unlawful to excavate or remove any materials on, under or forming part of any portion of the seashore' and that includes sand, pebbles or fossils so if like most people you have a souvenier pebble on the sideboard or that rockery in your garden came courtesy of a bag of stones from the beach then march yourself down to the local police station because you are a dirty criminal.
Cumberland Council in the north of England has been looking through the law books and have announced that anyone caught taking pebbles from beaches will now face fines of up to £1,000 but they do have science behind them because the pebbles and sand on the beach is there to provide natural protection for homes and infrastructure from the sea.
The science is that the more pebbles and sediment on the beach, the more able the beach is to absorb wave energy and removing pebbles and sand makes the beach less able to act as a natural barrier to flooding and erosion.
I agree that one person taking a few pebbles from the beach as a momento of that Summer holiday may not significantly affect the the overall beach volume, the cumulative effect of many people removing numerous pebbles may be more significant especially as the sea level creeps up thanks to Global Warming so now we know it is illegal, and the local Council can raise money from it, i expect to see it being enforced and look out my window and see kids crying because Mummy and Daddy have been hauled away to a local court to be fined for stepping off the beach with that pretty coloured stone they found.