NO it is illegal to remove rocks from a beach

I was just going to say exactly the same thing moon grower.
Stones and rocks on a Beach are the property of the council. If caught you could be sued

I saw and heard this on a news programme .I think somebody got nearly prosecuted for trying to take some stones/rocks home from a beach they were told to put them back

True, but if like me your garden is full of them (courtesy of the last Ice Age) you may use them to make fairly reasonable areas in which to grow alpine plants.

Absolutely Owdboggy and, with the farmers permission, we collect large stones and boulders from the fields to create our rockeries. (God help the people who buy this place when we are gone they'll need a JCB to shift all the rock - 20 years ago we could heft some rather large pieces of stone - not more... sigh). Recently a neighbour bought an extra piece of ground from another neighbour. Neighbour 2 had created a plum pudding rockery - neighbour 1 did not like or want... guess who has the stone now?

Exactly!
In the centre of our local town is a humungous mound of stone. Big sign 'Stone for Sale' If wishes were horses then no one would walk!

Have you sen what the Garden Centres charge for 'rocks' Owdboggy - I was horrified! They ask several quid for a smallish rock... yes well!

At the end of our lane there is a Georgian farm house. They have had a new concrete yard put down. The original surface was all 'beach pebbbles' of the size sold by Garden centres at pounds each. They are just in a mound by the wall graduallly disappearing under nettles etc. Sadly in 14 years I have never actually seen the owners to ask if I can have the pebbles. And, now I really do not have anywhere else to build a new alpine area.

That is a crying shame Owdboggy... We've still got a bit more garden to sort. Now we only have one car we'll create another raised bed were the 2nd one used to be parked.