CCTV cameras deployed in Polzeath to crackdown on beach parties

The cameras have been deployed after groups of teenagers have been 'swarming' to the beach for parties. Credit: BPM Media

A CCTV camera have been deployed at a beach in Cornwall as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour.

The camera, installed on Polzeath Beach, were supplied by the parish council for the use of beach rangers and police.

It comes as groups of teenagers have reportedly been swarming to the area for parties - leaving broken glass buried in the sand, remnants of fires all over the beach, and laughing gas canisters among the rubbish.

The cameras have an infra-red capability, enabling them to monitor the beach in the dark.

The Polzeath Beach Ranger Service, which aims to tackle anti-social behaviour on the beach during the summer holidays, has welcomed the CCTV.

Andy Stewart, a former police officer who now spends his time combatting anti-social behaviour in the area. Credit: BPM Media

In the past, emergency life-saving equipment has been vandalised on the beach. The parties have also seen trees uprooted and burned, and Prosecco bottles smashed and left in the sand.In 2022, a two-day 10pm curfew was imposed by police in a bid to clear the beach of parties at night.A large CCTV camera has now been installed to watch the beach. It is lit up by rechargeable floodlights powerful enough to illuminate any untoward behaviour.

Andy Stewart, a former police officer who now spends his time combatting anti-social behaviour in the area, said the lights would be switched on at 1am. Bin bags are also handed out to any volunteers to help clear up the mess.

He said Polzeath is a very popular beach attracting different age groups, but it's getting a 'party town' reputation.

"It's becoming like Newquay was in the 90s when it became full of stag and hen dos. It took 10 years for Newquay to turn itself around and be known as a family-friendly place again", he said.

"We don't want Polzeath to go into decline because once it's gone we'll struggle to get our reputation back."

He added that the use of the cameras are a 'necessary evil'.

"Sometimes you need to be more intrusive and find out what is going on. You cannot be in every place all the time and the cameras have proven their worth in their first two weeks."