Angler 'in shock' after car sprayed with graffiti and tyres let down in Dorset beach parking row

Giant white letters were graffiti sprayed on the car while owner Amanda Smith was night fishing. Credit: BPM Media

An angler has described her "shock" after discovering her car had been sprayed with graffiti and her tyres had been let down in a so-called row over parking at a popular Dorset fishing beach where wild campers have angered residents.

Amanda Smith, 52, parked on Buller's Way in Abbotsbury, an area of public land with no double yellow lines present, to do some night fishing.

But a short time later, she discovered her Peugeot 2008 had been sprayed with graffiti and all four tyres had been let down.

Giant white letters saying 'No Parking' were sprayed down the right-hand side of the car, with 'I am a tw**' sprayed on the left-hand side.

The car was sprayed with graffiti down both sides. Credit: BPM Media

The vandalism to Amanda Smith's car comes after residents in the village have complained that wild campers have been setting up "tent cities" on the beach, using their gardens as toilets and leaving rubbish behind.

A Public Space Protection Order came into effect last summer banning illegal camping on Chesil Beach, an 18-mile shingle bank between Portland and West Bexington, but night fishermen are exempt from the 'no camping' rule.

Thankfully a local fisherman came to Ms Smith's rescue with a pump to inflate her tyres so she could drive.

Ms Smith said she made sure to park away from any entrances and nowhere near a sign further down the road which said "no parking area beyond this point".

A Dorset Council spokesman confirmed there is no parking restriction in that location.

Amanda Smith parked on Buller's Way in Abbotsbury to do some night fishing. Credit: BPM Media

Ms Smith, who lives in Blandford, said: "I had just set the tent up and the next minute I had two girls come over to ask if I owned the red Peugeot. Someone had spray painted my car and let the tyres down.

"I wasn't happy, to say the least, but I was more shocked than anything that someone would do this. And it was done in broad daylight.

"It's embarrassing driving around in it.

"We have been down there most weekends and have always parked in the same spot.

"There are around three or four cars that park down there at one time."

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: "Dorset Police received a report at 7.55pm on Thursday 20 July 2023 of criminal damage to a vehicle in Abbotsbury.

"Enquiries are ongoing into the report. No arrests have been made."

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