Chris Christie, New Jersey governor, enjoys beach he closed to public

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is facing heavy 
criticism after he was photographed relaxing on a state 
beach he had ordered closed to the public.

The Republican gave the go-ahead for non-essential 
services to be shut down - including the Island State Beach Park - over the 4 July holiday weekend because of a 
budget impasse.

"I didn't get any sun today," he said, before the aerial 
photos emerged.

The pictures show Mr Christie and his family on an 
otherwise empty beach.

Other visitors were turned away by police.

Mr Christie said his family was spending the weekend 
at the governor's residence there and he was commuting to work by state helicopter.

"That's just the way it goes. Run for governor, and you 
have can have a residence there," he said at a news conference on Sunday.

"I didn't get any sun today," he added.

After being told of the photographs, his spokesman Brian Murray admitted Mr Christie had "briefly" been on the beach "talking to his wife and family before heading into the office".

"He did not get any sun. He had a baseball hat on,"
 Mr Murray added, NJ.com reported.

The partial government shutdown in New Jersey arose because state legislators had not passed a health 
insurance bill that Mr Christie said had to be passed 
alongside the state's budget.

The shutdown included the closure of Island State 
Beach Park, one of New Jersey's few free public beaches, 
and all other state parks.

Mr Christie had been trying to get the state's largest 
health insurer, Horizon Cross Blue Shield, to hand over 
$300m (£230m), some of which Mr Christie wanted to 
use to battle drug addiction in the state, the New York 
Times reported .

New Jersey is one of at least nine states that were 
unable to meet their budget deadlines at the beginning 
of the month.