‘Amusements, ice creams, sun’. The proud billboards at Bournemouth Beach paint a pretty picture of why the south coast seafront became one of Britain’s quintessential day outs.
A nice image. But sadly one that has faded fast.
A more appropriate modern metaphor can be found just below the sunny messaging, with a bastion of bin bags and fast food boxes stacked in and around a solitary skip, creating a wall-climbing plant of rubbish.
In many ways, the beach’s ills neatly tie together those that plague much of modern Britain.
Stop to look at the flytipping eyesore too long and your nostrils are filled with the invasive stench of cannabis, your ears the thumping boom of Bluetooth speakers.
Loiter any further and you’re bound to get bashed by a speeding bike, defiantly burning rubber over the promenade’s sad ‘No Cycling’ signs.
Those who have been coming for years talk of a gradual decline, but point to a slew of recent incidents that have left them feeling more unsettled than ever.
When temperatures hit the mid-30s last week, brawls broke out in broad daylight, while a woman in her late teens was raped in a beachside public toilet just days later leading to the arrest of a man who has now been released on bail.
Bournemouth Beach has long been one of Britain’s quintessential day outs, but has recently taken a sharp turn downhill
In many ways, the beach’s ills neatly tie together those that plague much of modern Britain with teenagers seemingly taking hippy crack and annoying locals
Those who have been coming for years talk of a gradual decline, but point to a slew of recent incidents that have left them feeling more unsettled than ever
Police carry away a detained individual after a mass brawl on Bournemouth beach last week
Five officers were assaulted as they began making arrests in Bournemouth on Monday last week
Sitting in his deck chair not far from the epicentre of the cannabis cloud, Mike Lucas, 76, regrets that visiting his beach hut is not as relaxing as it used to be.
‘We get high off the weed here sometimes just from the smell,’ he said. ‘There’s a lack of respect. I used to be a teacher, I wouldn’t want to be anymore.
‘Music is a real issue here as well, what with all these ghettoblasters and things.’
Mike spends much of his day politely reminding speeding cyclists that bikes are banned from the path at this time of year – and is often greeted by a foul-mouthed response.
Right on cue, a marauding peddler races past before reacting badly to the local’s complaints.
He unleashes a colourful volley of x-rated insults and points an angry finger at a reclining Mike, who gives the impression of someone who sees this kind of thing every day – presumably because he does.
Violence is becoming an increasingly common event on Bournemouth Beach as soaring temperatures prompt flared tempers.
On Wednesday, police released CCTV imagery of 12 males they would like to identify following a beach brawl between shirtless youths last week which saw five officers injured.
Sitting in deck chairs not far from the epicentre of a cannabis cloud, Mike Lucas, pictured right, and Bernd Rohring, left, regret that visiting their beach hut is not as relaxing as it used to be
Mike spends much of his day politely reminding speeding cyclists that bikes are banned from the path at this time of year
Right on cue, a marauding peddler races past before reacting badly to the local’s complaints
Cyclists ignoring local rules that ban it at this time of year. Fiends on two wheels remain as big a gripe as any for locals
A large green camping tent stands firmly in the sand just yards in front of the duo with a man’s legs poking out
Footage posted online showed yobs fighting among themselves and clashing with officers, with some seen hurling objects and attacking them with bottles.
Missiles appeared to be thrown at police and glass could be heard smashing on the ground as terrified day-trippers watched on in horror.
Five police officers were injured during the chaos, as well as a teenage girl who was taken to hospital for treatment. Their injuries were not serious.
‘People are always telling you to ‘eff off’ while they’re cycling along,’ Mike said once his bad-tempered rival had disappeared. ‘They don’t listen.
‘A couple of weeks ago, some teens were using the back of the huts as a toilet. They were told to stop but one was clearly trying to impress the others and physically attacked an older gentleman and punched him.
‘The police issued a case number but said they couldn’t send anyone down.
‘Music is a real issue here as well, what with all these ghettoblasters and things.’
Sitting in the hut next door, fellow beach-goer Patrick chimed in to describe cyclists as a ‘real problem’.
Bournemouth is one of Britain’s most historical beaches with people across the country visiting the resort during their holidays
Some locals reminisce about the good old days, where Bournemouth was a stylish and fashionable destination
A short walk past some more piles of rubbish, Ros and Terry Keenan are soaking in some afternoon sun
An enormous stack of overflowing bins provides a more accurate metaphor for Bournemouth Beach than the promising signs above it
Gesturing towards his friend Bernd Rohring, 83, Mike explained that rubbish was also getting out of control.
‘The beach is not properly manned,’ he said. ‘Bernie here spends his time each morning picking up litter.’
Bernd, taking a brief break from his tidying duties, added: ‘The bins here can’t cope with the level of rubbish. All the black bins here just disappeared.
‘There’s also a rough sleeper just there on the beach – he’s been here all week. The council won’t do anything about it.’
Sure enough, a large green camping tent stood firmly in the sand just yards in front of the duo with a man’s legs poking out.
Similar tents are interspersed among the sunbathing masses all across the beach and are clearly visible from the seafront’s many vantage points.
Sitting on their regular bench on the pier, Paul, 73, and Barbara, 70, are well aware of the swelling rough sleeping population.
‘We come down here often,’ Paul, sitting with his granddaughter Emilia, said: ‘Bournemouth has got this very high rate of homelessness, particularly in the summer.
Carol has been having a similarly grim time watching the bikes whizz past, creating muddy track marks in heaps of sand which have not been cleaned up by staff
Local enforcement officers spend a good deal of time chasing around rule-breaking BBQ operators
A couple of police officers could be seen in the surrounding area following a slew of antisocial incidents
A new camera being installed at the clifftop in light of a number of violent interactions
‘We’re actually thinking of moving which is a shame. It’s all a sign of the times.
‘We’ve had people fighting here and even a stabbing. We need more of a police presence.
‘But it’s the homelessness more than anything [that’s the problem].’
Barbara, who lives with her husband close to the beach, says that the problems are mirrored in the town itself.
‘It is a shame. The town is such a dead end. The shops have all gone and there’s so many homeless.
‘It’s not very good at the moment.
‘There’s a lot of drugs, soft drugs. You can smell the marijuana, we’re fed up smelling it. Alcohol, I’m all for, but not the drugs.’
These regulars paint a vivid picture of a real hellhole – a Dante’s Inferno in Dorset.
And yet tourists still flock there in their droves, taking a day off to soak in the sun on one of the largest sand beaches on the south coast.
Longer in the tooth than most is Lourde, a local who has spent many decades seeing the beach evolve – or devolve – since she first arrived aged 17
Several residents complained about a lift service which has been closed for a long time following landslides
An area of the beach remains closed off some time after the landslides
This presents its own issues with limited parking options prompting day trippers to leave their cars on the side of the road, on grass verges or even in the middle of roundabouts.
The chaos has threatened to deter tourists from visiting the popular site and, in a bid to ease things, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council brought forward proposals to charge residents £70 to park outside their own homes.
This went down about as well as you would expect with the local authority forced into a dramatic U-turn after an influx of criticism.
Barbara said: ‘Everyone says the parking is horrendous. There are cars on yellow lines everywhere.’
Paul added; ‘Parking is expensive. You’re never going to have enough spaces in the summer.
‘It’s overcrowded.’
Debbie and Terry, visiting from a nearby town, rented one of the colourful beach huts for their day at the seaside.
They explained that the parking situation has got worse lately with many people simply ignoring the signs threatening fines.
A bong stands embedded in the golden sands of Bournemouth beach like King Arthur’s Excalibur in May
A male stands in plain sight and urinates near the beach huts with an e-scooter seen in the forefront
Graffiti etched on the side of one beach hut two months ago
‘Parking is a big issue,’ Debbie said. ‘People parking on the roundabouts or on the side of the road. It’s very hard to get parking there.’
The Liberal Democrat-led BCP Council suggested their unpopular plans on the basis that pirate parkers are happy to pay the existing £35 maximum fine so sterner measures were needed.
Miles of road were set to be littered with new meters under the scheme, including the residential areas of Sandbanks, Canford Cliffs, Branksome Chine, Westcliff, Boscombe and Southbourne, under the proposals.
But this meant home owners would pick up the slack, paying £70 per car on their own streets, and the idea has been swiftly brushed back under the carpet.
The problem remains, however, and there is a general consensus that a clever new plan to deal with the chaos is needed.
On the other side of the promenade, a short walk past some more piles of rubbish and local enforcement officers chasing around rule-breaking BBQ operators, Ros and Terry Keenan are soaking in some afternoon sun.
They agree that the beach can be a nightmare to get to and count themselves lucky that their street, slightly closer to town, has not become one of the many jam-packed thoroughfares in the area.
Terry said: ‘There’s a real issue with parking, but the council should just build a multi-storey car park down the road.’
A group of young men appear to inhale balloons filled with nitrous oxide on Bournemouth beach
A group of males hang out on the seafront with balloons held to their lips. One of the males appears to be holding a gas canister
Two young revellers are seen walking along Bournemouth beach, one with a balloon in his mouth
For all the chit chat and council minutes dedicated to parking problems, the fiends on two wheels remain just as big a gripe for locals.
‘Cyclists are a pain. They cycle very fast,’ Terry added. ‘They’re dressed in black with balaclavas, cycling these things with huge tyres.
‘So they’re not exactly here for a quiet day at the beach, they’re obviously pushing.
‘The council are cycling fanatics. There’s big blue signs in town, not for cars but for cyclist’s directions. They don’t need them.
‘They must be doing some really high speeds along here. They ignore the signs on the pavements.’
Ros added: ‘The cycling is a problem. One of my grandchildren got knocked over by someone going past on a bike, and he was standing on a no cycling sign.’
Carol, 71, and Laura have been having a similarly grim time watching the bikes whizz past, creating muddy track marks in heaps of sand which have not been cleaned up by staff.
‘There are far too many cyclists coming along this path,’ she said. ‘They’re supposed to get fined but nobody is taking any notice of the signs or the rules.
Police patrol Bournemouth seafront amid a crackdown on people using hippy crack
Police officers descend on a group of revelers on Bournemouth beach to seize canisters of nitrous oxide
Police looking over the beach from the Pier as they seek to crackdown on people using nitrous oxide in the popular getaway spot
A police officer speaks on the phone while holding a canister of nitrous oxide on Bournemouth beach
‘They just get off for a second and then get straight back on.’
She added that the beach was falling hopelessly short with regards to accessibility after a landslide a few years ago left the main lift permanently out of action.
Carol said: ‘It’s also bad that the cliff side lift has not been working for three years due to the landslide.
‘We need a wheelchair so it is difficult.’
As one of the largest resorts in the south of England, Bournemouth has long attracted legions of youngsters from the inner cities looking for a glimpse at the bright blue sea.
Visiting kids and lifelong residents have generally co-existed quite pleasantly, but it seems there has been a noticeable shift in recent years.
Shocking pictures show teens apparently taking hippy crack, or nitrous oxide balloons, in plain sight while playing loud music and even getting in confrontations with locals.
Terry Keenan has seen such incidents come close to spiralling out of control in recent months and blames the police for lacking a beach side presence.
Cars parked all along the road on the East Cliff in Bournemouth. Plans to introduce a tax on those parking in the area have been struck down by local complaints
Visitors to Bournemouth have been parking across driveways, on pavements and grass verges
‘The police are useless, they’re never here,’ he said. ‘Kids come here for a big night, they come with the gas and balloons.
‘On these nights, it gets on the verge of being a nuisance.
‘We’re down here all day and there’s not one policeman, yet there’s thousands of people here. It gets out of control.
‘We saw the police there one weekend, but why not have them here all the time? A police car would put people off.’
Debbie agreed that antisocial behaviour was often rampant and suggested it might be down to ‘too much cannabis’.
Terry, meanwhile, said: ‘There are lots of down and outs and a cannabis smell in the air.
‘There are also lots of problems with alcohol. These problems were not here before.
‘So many of the shops have been closed up and there is a real lack of police.’
While the beach seemed quiet for a sunny July afternoon, the tourists haven’t put off just yet and, thanks to their briefer exposure to Bournemouth’s issues, were more enthusiastic about the resort.
One said: ‘There’s a big area closed off where everyone seems to have slung their rubbish. But other than that we’ve pretty much had a 10 out of 10 experience today.’
And another added: ‘We come down here most years for a few days. The sea is much clearer than in Kent, where I’m from, and the weather always seems to be good.’
Longer in the tooth is Lourde, a local who has spent many decades seeing the beach evolve – or devolve – since she first arrived aged 17.
She reflected wistfully on a bygone era, where Bournemouth was trendy and safe, ruing the fact that she no longer feels comfortable taking to the promenade in the evening.
‘All the men used to come here in smart suits and the ladies wore business suits,’ Lourde said. ‘It was a certain status thing to walk along this beach side.
‘It’s really busy now. Unfortunately the town itself has also gone downhill.
‘The whole atmosphere is completely rundown. It used to be stylish.
‘It all changed when the students stopped coming. They brought money in and went to bars and cafes and needed entertainment.’
Keeping a safe distance sitting in the square a couple of hundred yards behind the beach, she added: ‘I wouldn’t want to go down here at nighttime. It’s very sad, only six years ago I would have been fine.
‘There’s an undercurrent – I can’t quite say what it is.’
