Somerset town swamped by motorhomes in heat wave

LOCALS complained of a “motorhome free for all” in a sleepy Somerset town during the heat wave as they urged police to intervene.

The scorching weather coupled with travel restrictions have caused people to flee to the countryside and coast, with many purchasing motorhomes and tents to stay overnight.

The Met Office said yesterday was the third hottest UK day on record as temperatures reached 100.04F (37.8C) at Heathrow Airport.

Minehead Town Council has called for restrictions after campervan owners used all the local parking spaces at the public toilets in the nearby car park to fill up with gallons of water, run hose pipes and empty lavatory cassettes.

Councillors urged Somerset County Council to install clearer signage or introduce a traffic regulation order to prevent motorhome owners parking at Quay West overnight.

Cllr Anne Lawton said: “I am concerned that in failing to act we will fail these residents. The current situation is a substantial health risk, and there are a large number of motorhomes doing this – it can be like a caravan park on weekends.”

Cllr Beresford Mandley said he felt that the current situation was becoming a “free for all”, and was costing taxpayers a fortune.

Mayor of Minehead Cllr Paul Bolton said: “The police are frustrated as there is nothing they can do even though they are getting a lot of calls about the matter.”

The National Trust has previously complained that rangers have had to spend most of their time cleaning up litter as many people have been illegally camping and leaving all their

‘The current situation is a substantial health risk. It can be like a caravan park on weekends’

equipment behind in the morning. Traffic has plagued the country during the hot weather, with the millionaires’ playground of Sandbanks in Dorset facing gridlock resulting in motorists being turned away from the peninsula.

The main car park in the area, which has 532 spaces, was full by 9.30am and had to be closed to drivers, and marshals had to turn people away.

As a result, traffic heading into Sandbanks was “bumper to bumper” from 10am to 2pm.

The traffic jam backed up for two miles to nearby Lilliput.