Things turned ugly at Cullercoats Bay when drunken bullies forced a 12-year-old boy to stand in the freezing sea for around 45 minutes, refusing to let him back on the beach.

It is then believed a group of around 60 people got into a fight on the beach on Saturday.

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Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade chairman Will Hogg said the scene was like something from fiction.

"It was like a scene from the TV show Shameless," he said.

"There were a lot of people drinking and it just escalated – there were fights and people throwing bottles at each other.

"As part of this a 12-year-old boy was forced to stand in the sea for a long period of time.

"The North Sea is very cold and he could have got hypothermia.

"Youngsters swimming and drinking is a recipe for disaster – the two shouldn't mix.

"Our seas are extremely cold and it is an extremely dangerous thing to stay in the water for any length of time – and it caused a great deal of problems over the weekend."

Paul Tooke, who is a volunteer on Cullercoats lifeboat, said the beach was more like a war zone than a pleasure site at the weekend.

"It was beyond belief, it was just a riot – like something from Beirut.

"It was the life brigade that actually called the police after what we saw.

"We've all just had enough, something needs to be done about it.

"Our beaches are so beautiful and they're being ruined by drunken, teenage gangs."

Neighbourhood Inspector Tony Blacklock said the police agreed with local residents that anti-social behaviour and drink-related disorder is simply not acceptable.

"We know that groups of youths travel down to the coast, get drunk and spoil the summer evenings for everyone else and we're determined to take tough action to stop them," he said.

"We're putting extra officers on duty at times when this is likely to happen and officers on the Metro unit are keeping a close eye on the situation.

"We're also working with partners at the local authority with the Cullercoats Harbour user group and local residents to help keep the seafront areas of North Tyneside safe for everyone to enjoy.

"I must reassure residents that we don't ignore this kind of behaviour and if anyone sees it happening they should contact us as soon as possible.

"The chief constable has pledged that tackling anti-social behaviour and drink-related disorder are two of the key issues for action which we will be paying particular attention to over the next 12 months."