Clean-up in Newquay as mankinis are banned at seaside resort

Updated
Clean-up in Newquay as mankinis are banned at seaside resort
Clean-up in Newquay as mankinis are banned at seaside resort

Getty



Cornish seaside resort Newquay is taking drastic action to wipe its streets of drunken stag parties - by banning visitors from wearing mankinis.

The Daily Mail reports that police in the seaside town say the decision to ban the revealing one-piece and other 'inappropriate clothing' has helped significantly reduce anti-social behaviour and recorded crime.

Officers say Newquay is shedding its reputation as a resort for drunken revellers and stag parties as a result of the zero-tolerance approach to risqué fancy dress.

Some tourists, including 15-year-old children, have been sent home as a result of their anti-social behaviour, while adult fun-seekers have had their skimpy fancy dress costumes seized by police - including thong-like bathing suits mankinis.

The news is a delight for locals who had become used to seeing men walking around their home town in the tiny costumes.

Devon and Cornwall Police Superintendent Julie Whitmarsh spoke of the successful summer season and said: 'We have had this consistency of seizing inappropriate items of clothing, sending people home to get changed, and that has worked, it has made a real difference, this 'no-nonsense attitude.'

'Mankini is what we term "offensive clothing", so we won't accept people wearing them. They are just hideous.'

'Is it just me, but if you were living in Bath for example, or Bournemouth, is that something you would wear to walk into town on a Saturday afternoon? No.

'They are just revolting, there is nothing pleasant about seeing anybody in a mankini. We have had a real crackdown on the fake penises.

'And people are getting that message. You look at the images you see of Newquay now, 2009 is three years ago and we are in a very different place.'

Part of the award-winning Newquay Safe campaign, since the death of two teenagers in 2009 following separate drink-fuelled nights out, the tough stance has been welcomed by residents who want to take their town back from the clutches of anti-social tourists.

'There was a lot of anger, that for us was a real turning point and threw it into sharp focus,' said Superintendent Whitmarsh.

'It was just the constancy of what was happening, the ongoing situation. I've always been shocked at the number of families that come on holiday but don't all go home as a family.

'To have that number of incidents was a shock for all of those involved. It was a real catalyst for change.'

Newquay Safe won praise from Home Office ministers for its initiatives designed to cut crime. Police regularly called parents across Britain to collect their drunken children in the middle of the night, alcohol was seized and stag and hen parties were sometimes banned from going into the resort.

'I remember one of our PCSOs said a 16-year-old boy had 64 cans of super-strength lager at 2pm,' Supt Whitmarsh told the Daily Mail.

'But the mother had a real go at the police saying they had ruined the boy's fun.

'But it isn't fun if you see the immediate harm a can of super-strength lager can cause a 16-year-old, let alone 64 between five of them.

'There is an attitude of "what goes on tour, stays on tour", that that's ok, but it is not.'

Superintendent Whitmarsh, who has two sons aged 14 and 11, said some parents' attitudes have contributed to the problems associated with anti-social behaviour among drunken teens.

She said: 'You get adults dropping their children off with, literally, a boot full of alcohol, and they say: "I'd rather know what they are drinking"'.

Officers say the message is finally getting through to many parents and reported crime during the summer season fell by one fifth this year compared with 2009, while reports of anti-social behaviour dropped from 685 in the summer of 2009 to 286 this season.

Related articles

Barcelona to fine bikini-wearers on the city's streets
Butlins bans bumping in bumper cars!
Solar-powered bikini lets you charge your iPod on the beach

Thought mankini-wearers were bad? Check out these bad traits of Brits on holiday...

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-149746%

Sign up to our weekly newsletterFollow us on TwitterBecome a fan on Facebook

Advertisement