'Carnage' as hundreds head to West Country beaches to make the most of the sunshine

Beaches across the West Country have seen an influx of visitors amid sunnier days and the easing of lockdown restrictions.

People in England can now exercise outside as much as they want-as long as they adhere to social distancing measures.

Travel is also allowed to without restriction in England as long as people return to their main residence at night.

But the impact of these new regulations has left many locals feeling angry and frustrated as beauty spots have become incredibly busy.

In Weston the tourism board, now called Don't Visit Weston, shared its concerns about the effect the amount of visitors was having on the seaside town.

The scene in Weston-Super-Mare yesterday [20 May.]
There were also long queues for food in Weston due to the amount of visitors.

In Cornwall a driver has reportedly been fined by police after travelling from London for a holiday.

Parts of the county, alongside Devon, grounded to a halt after hundreds of cars descended on the coastline on the hottest day of the year.

Police stopped a number of vehicles in Wadebridge and Bodmin as part of an operation, including a car containing four people who had travelled to the county for a break.

It is believed the driver was handed a fine for breaking Covid-19 laws.

Fistral beach in Newquay was full of visitors and residents. Credit: ITV West Country

Devon and Cornwall police have also been waking up visitors in campervans this morning, 21 May, and telling them to 'come back later'.

During dawn patrols in Newquay, vehicles were identified and moved on that had come to the region.

Many carparks reached capacity yesterday ,20 May, and there were reports that traffic wardens ran out of tickets, emergency services were blocked and roads gridlocked.

Police said cars had been recorded as travelling from "all over the country".

Pictures showed hundreds of people on some of Cornwall's most popular beaches with many car parks full by lunchtime.

The situation at Polzeath was described as "carnage" by one individual, who urged people to stay away.

Fistral Beach in Newquay and Widemouth Bay were also very busy.

The scene at Fistral beach in Newquay Credit: ITV West Country
Locals were left furious as litter was left at the top of the cliffs at Tregantle beach in Cornwall. Credit: Lien Robnson

Police took to social media to reinforce the plea.

North West Devon Police tweeted: "Important message....the traffic heading to the North Devon beaches is exceptionally busy. The beach car parks are now closed for new traffic....please avoid the area."

In Woolacombe, Challacombe Hill Road, Beach Road and Georgeham Road were also heavily congested with vehicles heading for the beach.

Alliance Roads Policing - the joint Twitter account for Devon & Cornwall ad Dorset Police's road policing team said: "Come on people, let’s have a shred of consideration for the local communities. We appreciate the restrictions have been relaxed but let’s use some common sense, please?"

  • This was the view at Fistral beach in Newquay:

The huge rush to the coastline comes as drivers take advantage of more relaxed lockdown regulations.

Beach car parks were closed to new traffic and there no amenities or toilets were open for drivers on arrival.

One resident posted a video showing cars in a long traffic jam at 9.30am coming into Saunton Sands.