Blue plaque for UK's first council beach hut in Dorset
The UK's first council-owned beach hut in Bournemouth is to be commemorated with a blue plaque.
The traditional-style hut, located 500 ft (150m) east of Bournemouth Pier, was built in 1909 by F P Dolamore - the borough engineer at the time. Andrew Emery, from the borough council, said the sign would "celebrate the town's history and heritage". Jean Smith, the tenant of a similar hut in Bournemouth for more than 20 years, has been chosen to unveil the plaque. Mrs Smith won an award for Best Kept Hut in the Beach Hut Of The Year Competition 2010. Mr Emery said: "These colourful sheds have become a British seaside icon and Bournemouth has more beach huts than anywhere else in the UK." There are over 20,000 beach huts in the UK and Bournemouth seafront has more than 1,900.