LUXURY beach lodges opened earlier this year at Bournemouth beach have had a bumper first season.

All 15 of the overnight stay lodges are fully booked for the school summer holiday and remain so until mid-September.

Now Bournemouth Tourism is taking bookings well into the autumn with inquiries flooding in for the Christmas period.

The lodges are situated near Manor Steps, between Boscombe pier and Southbourne.

They accommodate four adults and two children and have a lounge, kitchen, bathroom, WiFi, TV and heating.

Prices range from around £275 for a mid-week break in November to £1,875 for ten days over Christmas and New Year.

Bournemouth council's resort information manager, Luke Watkins, said: "Since opening on April 7 until the beginning of September we are operating at a 67 per cent occupancy rate but we are delighted to have been fully booked for seven weeks over the summer and currently have more than 600 bookings."