Packed Cornwall is like ‘Benidorm on steroids’
POPULAR Cornwall resorts have been dubbed ‘Benidorm on steroids’ after a flood of tourists left locals too scared to go outside.
Street marshals have been deployed to patrol narrow roads where visitors were seen ignoring strict social distancing.
St Ives resident Claire Harris, 37, told the BBC that her family was ‘too scared to go food shopping’ and that she had banned her children from the main shopping street and harbour front because of the crowds. She said this was ‘the general consensus among friends’.
A Cornish local told BBC radio Cornwall was like ‘Benidorm on steroids’, while Vicky White, from Newlyn, added: ‘It makes me very uneasy to go out with my two young kids. The pavements have been bustling. It is sad for residents to not be able to enjoy where they live.’
Many residents of Perranporth, one of Cornwall’s most popular resorts, said they felt unwelcome in the town’s convenience stores, many of which were overwhelmed by groups of shoppers.
Jonathan Pitts, who manages holiday lets, said: ‘Sadly, I think a lot [of tourists] have the same attitude – that they’ve come to escape it [the virus].’ Every single tent pitch, campervan space or lodge in Cornwall’s top 20 campsites is fully booked and Visit Cornwall boss Malcolm Bell has warned of a struggle to find enough accommodation for the hordes of visitors.
And Deputy Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall police, Paul Netherton, said that it wasn’t at places of work where Covid-19 outbreaks are occurring, ‘it’s the social settings – the family BBQs, the pub, where people are forgetting the basic rules of social distancing and wearing masks’.
There were 20 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Cornwall in the week up to July 26, a rise of 14 from the previous week.
An extra £500,000 was given to Devon and Cornwall Police by the local Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez in July to help communities manage the pandemic this summer.
A Cornwall Council spokesman yesterday said that they were monitoring congested sites, adding: ‘We ask everyone to be considerate of others and follow public health guidance to help reduce the risk of transmission.’
Elsewhere, local authorities warned that beaches were becoming ‘unmanageable’ due to large swathes of visitors.
The Coastguard had its busiest day for more than four years on Friday – the UK’s third hottest day ever at 100F – when it dealt with more than 300 incidents.
Dorset campsites are as full as Cornwall’s, and Devon County Council has issued a warning over visitor numbers, pleading with road users to ‘protect our emergency services and wider highways teams at this busy time’.
In Essex, Thanet District Council asked people to avoid four of the county’ s beaches, including Margate’s Main Sands, due to the number of visitors.
The authorities expressed concern about keeping tourists safe when in the water, as well as the risk of spreading Covid- 19 and the problems of maintaining vital social distancing.
Elsewhere in the county, police found a body yesterday in the search for a 15-year-old boy who went missing in a lake close to the Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock. Police said the boy’s family has been informed and formal identification will take place ‘in due course’.