Fed-up residents of the seaside resort branded as Britain’s worst say they have lost the battle against ill-behaved drinkers vomiting and arguing in the streets, and rising homelessness.
Skegness resident Rachel Barker has lived in a Lincolnshire seaside town all her life, but says most of her older friends have moved away because of the town’s boozy reputation.
“I was born and raised here, but most of the older people I knew have already left,” she said.
Mrs Barker added: ‘There are a lot of homeless people now and a lot of drinking. They come en masse to the coast at the caravan sites.
‘They’re behaving really badly. They are sick everywhere.’
Shortly before 11pm last night, a drunken street fight involving two men and a woman broke out next to a seaside park in Skegness
Sarah Benzid, 23, Daisy Mae, 20, and Grace Lexa, 20, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, partying in Skegness last night
Skeg Vegas: General view of the Oasis arcade in Skegness, pictured last night
Homelessness has become an increasing problem facing Skegness
At 7pm yesterday on the Skegness coast, Sarah Benzid, 23, Daisy Mae, 20, and Grace Lexa, 20, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, were already partying hard, much to Mrs Barker’s chagrin.
When asked what the seaside town had to offer, Sarah laughed and said: ‘I’d say the booze, the nightlife and the bloody men.’
She added: ‘There’s also the beach and the chippies. I have no plans to go abroad. If you want to get away quickly with your friends, come to Skegness.’
Brandishing a large jug of alcohol, she staggered out of the prom, adding, “We’re going to the club later.”
Shortly before 11pm last night, a drunken street fight involving two men and a woman broke out next to a seaside park. Then it went further into the park and the people disappeared into the darkness.
Typical of the brash American-style bars that lure younger drinkers to the coast, The Hive is home to eight bars under one roof.
For mum Rosie, 40, who was enjoying her first girls’ night out in years, it was all too much.
“We’ve been drinking since 3pm and were told things don’t really get going until 10pm,” she said. “I planned to be home in bed by then.”
Skegness resident Rachel Barker (pictured) has lived in the Lincolnshire seaside town all her life, but says most of her older friends have moved away because of the town’s boozy reputation
Sarah, Daisy and Grace went out for a night of fun and alcohol in Skegness last night
What brought me to Skegness? ‘I’d say the booze, the nightlife and the damn men’
“We’re going to the club later,” Sarah said, a large jug of alcohol in hand
There were queues along the seafront for cheap fast food, with ‘Fox’s Famous Fish and Chips’ having the ‘lowest price in Skegness’.
For just €6.99 you get a large piece of haddock, topped with enough mushy peas to turn the chips green.
But around the corner, homeless people sit down in the evening in front of the closed shutters of a brick factory.
Dave Bond, 55, from West Yorkshire, shared a chip meal with son Alfie, 12, Staffordshire bull terrier Barney, who was straining for leftovers in the lead, while Dave considered getting another tattoo during their stay.
He said: ‘Skegness isn’t what you’d call picturesque, but for £5.99 the fish and chips were really tasty.
‘It’s not what you call a prosperous area. We used to go to Whitby but there’s always a folk festival going on there or the Goths are there and the prices have escalated so much.
Earlier in the day, there were families on the shore enjoying doughnuts, cotton candy and of course more fish and chips.
The seaside atmosphere was enough to convince Nessa Cox, 52, to move her family from Peterborough ten years ago.
Scenes of a fight broke out on the streets of Skegness last night
Men sit outside the closed Factory Rock Shop in Skegness yesterday
Young people drank on the balcony of a bar in Skegness last night as they kicked off the weekend
People believed to be homeless on the streets of Skegness last night
Last night a fight took place in the street in Skegness
Police attended the scene of the fight, which started around 11 p.m
She said, ‘It’s okay. It’s great to see families having fun and lots of people coming into town.
“You get your bachelor parties, but they’re also here for a good time. There is plenty to do and plenty to eat for the children.
‘There are plenty of places to have a drink, basically everything a holiday resort needs. We just got cod, chips and beans twice for £11, so pretty good prices. You can get good deals.”
As the shadows lengthened, families with young children began to leave, carrying stuffed animals they had won at the many arcades along the Golden Mile.
Boy racers started gathering in parking garages. Street drinkers were seen lurking in shelters near the park. Behind the railing of the park, young people could be seen drinking from open bottles.
Last year, 300 asylum seekers were housed in hotels in Skegness, causing controversy and tension in the area. But from April this year, only one hotel in the city should be used for this purpose, it BBC reported.
Closed shops at Skegness pleasure beach pictured yesterday
The Great British Rock Shop and Chips on Parade chippy on Skegness
Buildings that are heavily painted and in poor condition in Skegness
Dave Bond, 55, from West Yorkshire, shared a chip supper with son Alfie, 12, Staffordshire bull terrier Barney, who strained for leftovers in the lead, while Dave considered getting another tattoo during their stay
The seaside atmosphere was enough to convince Nessa Cox (pictured), 52, to move from Peterborough with her family ten years ago
A couple relaxed on camping chairs on the beach in Skegness yesterday afternoon in the sunshine
A couple took a walk along the seafront in Skegness yesterday
Hoteliers in Skegness were paid more than £10,000 a week to close their doors to tourists and house migrants instead. “The owners who accepted the Home Office money tend not to live in the area,” Ross Richardson, events manager at the Savoy hotel, which rejected the offer, said in March last year.
Tensions rose in July after an asylum seeker living in one of the hotels was accused of raping a woman just six weeks after arriving in Britain on a small boat packed with 60 migrants. The Egyptian national was found not guilty of the charge by the court in December last year.
After the man was charged, hotels reported bookings being cancelled, with deputy mayor Adrian Findley saying at the time that the city was being treated like a ‘dumping ground for asylum seekers’.