BEACH hut tenants at Canford Cliffs have raised concerns about anti-social behaviour following a recent stabbing and several large gatherings in the area.

Beach huts have been broken, prompting calls for increased patrols, more lighting and CCTV.

One tenant, who chose to remain anonymous said: “We have seen anti-social behaviour, my son had his beach hut broken into.

"It’s teenagers, 16-year-olds. I think it’s worse than it’s ever been because of the bounce back from lockdown where they haven’t been able to anything at all and suddenly they can.

“It was May half term when we had the police out and the security at 2 o’clock in the morning and we went down on Saturday and the hut had been broken into and vandalised. There were drugs there as well.

“They used to have beach wardens up and down all the time and although I do see somebody, there aren’t as many people as there used to be.

"I think we’ve has less patrols since Poole Council amalgamated with Bournemouth and Christchurch, I think it was better when it was just Poole.”

Another tenant whose beach hut was also broken into said: “What would be really good down here is more lighting, we definitely need lighting and possibly even closed-circuit television, I think that would cut down the antisocial behaviour considerably.”

“If you come down here early on a lovely sunny weekend, people are sleeping on the beach which I don’t particularly mind but it’s not ideal.

“I’ve had my beach hut broken into, quite a few of us have, they walk along and chuck stones and when I come down there’s often beer cans, bottles and cigarette ends, so they’ve obviously sat along or grouped by the huts. It’s the leaving all the mess behind that’s the antisocial bit.”

Two tenants who took over their hut on Saturday said: “We live in Bournemouth and we rent the hut, we’ve had it since Saturday and we haven’t seen any real trouble, apart from bikes and scooters being ridden during the hours that they're not supposed to be.

"It’s fine when it’s not too busy but if you’ve got lots of kids down here that are trying to get across, that’s the hard bit.”

In response to reports of anti-social behaviour at Canford Cliffs, Neighbourhood Sergeant Sophie Williams, of Poole Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Operation Sandman was set up in April this year. It is a multi-agency operation to target anti-social behaviour during the evening at the weekends in the Canford Cliffs and Sandbanks areas.

“This operation will now be run annually between Easter and the end of September each year by the neighbourhood policing team.

“We are aware of reports of people gathering in large groups acting anti-socially on the beach and we want to help reduce any potential disturbances.

“As part of the operation, officers from the local neighbourhood policing team will be carrying out regular high-visibility patrols, with support from partner agencies.

“While on patrol, officers will engage with anyone seen acting in an anti-social manner and seek to provide early intervention by removing alcohol from young people to prevent any further crime or disorder.

“In the majority of cases, the people we speak to are well-mannered, but unfortunately there are some incidents where large gatherings lead to disorder, which typically occurs between 9.30pm and 11pm, and this is the behaviour that we are specifically focusing on.

“We are fully aware of the distress and upset that anti-social behaviour causes to the local community and that is why this operation was launched.

“We are committed to working with our partner agencies to tackle the issue and ensure residents and visitors feel safe and enjoy their time in the area.”