Amsterdam urges rowdy young British men to 'stay away'

Amsterdam city council produced a video deterring people from coming to their city for a "messy night"

Amsterdam has urged sex and drug tourists to stay away from their city in a discouragement campaign specifically aimed at young British men.

The campaign by the Dutch city's council is part of its efforts to clean up the city known for both its beautiful architecture, art and canals as well as its liberal attitude to cannabis and prostitution.

In a video produced for the campaign, two officers are seen arresting a drunk man and while warning against coming to the city for a "messy night."

It ends with: "So coming to Amsterdam for a messy night? Stay away."

The city council said they still wanted to accept visitors to the city but this was specifically aimed at "nuisance tourists who want to visit Amsterdam to ‘go wild’."

They said the campaign is being initially targeted at British men aged between 18-35, with plans to extend it to other countries in Europe.

People searching for "stag party Amsterdam", "cheap hotel Amsterdam" and "pub crawl Amsterdam", will be shown warning advertisements.Deputy Mayor Sofyan Mbarki said: "Visitors will remain welcome, but not if they misbehave and cause nuisance.

"In that case we as a city will say: rather not, stay away. Amsterdam is already taking lots of measures against excessive tourism and nuisance, and we are taking more measures than other large cities in Europe.

"But we have to do even more the coming years if we want to give tourism a sustainable place in our city."

People who arrive in the city will be given guides on "How to Amsterdam" informing them on what behaviour is acceptable in the city and highlighting it is illegal to urinate in public.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...

Bars, nightclubs and other late-night venues will also be forced to close earlier, smoking cannabis will be banned in public and alcohol sales will be limited in the city centre.

Amsterdam has long been a destination for British hedonists looking to get away for a weekend.

Its proximity to the UK and liberal attitude to party behaviour has made it one of the top destinations for young Brits looking to party.

It is also one of the most visited cities on the planet attracting 20 million tourists a year, with around one million of those from the UK.

But unlike other popular tourist cities like London and Paris, it is not very big and has a population of under a million.

This has led to exasperation by locals who have long complained their beautiful city is being ruined by drunken visitors.

For years the council has been trying to direct tourists away from cannabis and nightlife towards its museums and culture with mixed success.