The UK’s coastal criminal hotspots have been revealed. As seaside towns and holiday destinations enjoy a spike in tourists over the summer months, one drawback is the crime that comes with it.
NoDepositFriend.com collected crime data from summer from towns and coastal spots popular with holidaying Brits.
Taking the amount of crimes occurring over the first two months of summer, the organisation’s research suggests Portsmouth, Blackpool and Bournemouth are the most crime-plagued beach destinations in Britain.
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With 4,822 crimes occurring this summer already, Portsmouth topped the undesirable list.
(Image: Getty Images)
The Hampshire city’s shipping and navy connection dates back centuries, and visitors flock to Portsmouth annually for its military history and historic ships.
Tourists also come for the beaches, with one person on TripAdvisor Southsea Beach as their “happy place”. However, another recent visitor gave the beach a one-star review, claiming the beach was “unfit to swim or paddle in” due to the “raw sewage being discharged into it regularly”.
(Image: Getty Images)
Local police slapped a dispersal order on Southsea in May, after seafront revelry got out of hand, which left one teen with injuries and another arrested. Following the incident of violence, damage to boats and alcohol theft, the authorities said there would be a greater police presence during weekends over summer.
Blackpool was second on the list with 4,444 reported crimes this summer so far.
Although a haven for cheap beer, donkeys and sandcastles, one local described it as a “s***hole” filled with “crackheads bagheads, p***heads, stabbings” and “all kinds of mad s***”.
(Image: Getty Images)
One of the town’s most popular attractions, its Central Pier, was caned by two recent travellers, who both gave it a one star review on TripAdvisor.
One visitor described the pier as “disgraceful”, after they claimed they were sold out of date ride tickets, while the other regaled how her partner was “mocked” by a grumpy bar staff member.
Bournemouth comes in at third place with 4,252 crimes already recorded this summer.
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This follows the double stabbing on Bournemouth beach in May, which left one women dead and another fighting for her life.
According to CrimeRate, the holiday destination is one of the 10 most dangerous places in Dorset, and has the county’s worst theft rate, in January 2023.
The town’s sandy beach is one of its biggest attractions. The beach has a 4.5 star TripAdvisor rating, as holidaymakers praise the “glorious” shores.
(Image: Shutterstock / Wirestock Creators)
However one recent visitor left a two-star TripAdvisor review, calling the town a “disappointment”.
They wrote: “Beaches are beautiful but the whole place is ruined by homeless sleeping on the beaches in tents, druggies everywhere! Beggars. Cheap chicken shops! Very very run down. Would never visit again.”
Eastbourne, Hove, Weymouth and Folkestone follow, with Skegness, Newquay and Whitby coming in at eighth, ninth and tenth place.
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