Dawlish News

I only wish this were true. During two visits to Dawlish this year - a week at Easter and one in May - me and this missus thought the town's problem with drunkeness and homelessness was the worst it's ever been. At Easter, we witnessed a drunk having a wee on the seafront just near the railway station in full view of children (reported to police), our son picked up a dirty needle on the beech (reported to Teignbridge Council) and we saw four homeless people sleeping in the various shelters on Lea Mount during a morning walk. Now every town has its problems and we weren't going to say anything because we'd rather talk Dawlish up rather than look at the negatives, but this guy is living in cloud cuckoo land if he really thinks the problem is going away!!!

It's all been said before on this site by me and others:-

Anti social behaviour still evident.

Dawlish drinking and drugs club (D.D & D.C.) still frequenting The Lawn/ Cove, etc, etc weather permitting.

Large groups of Kids (disclaimer - Kids being used as a very generalised term by myself to include people of all ages acting in an anti social way around Dawlish).

Without enforcement the signs only publicise to visitors that this is not a very nice place to visit.

If we had had some policing prior to these notices, there would have not been a need for them in the first place.

The article in Devonlive.com is a load of propaganda and Teignbridge Council know it. "Call the 101 number it states" what a load of BS and be told not to bother them with outside or inside noise and ASB. The police cars come down the Strand and do not even bother to look if there are any problems. All this we know to be true.

I thought someone got stabbed on the strand the other night. Loads of teenagers on the lawns. Doesn't seem to be under control to me.

If you go down to the woods today you'd be in for a big surprise, or just go up the manor park and see the sheer amount of needles and those of anti social labels sitting in bushes smoking and sticking things in themselves. They might not sit all day at the remaining happy huts, but they are far from gone.

Well, it's clear from these responses that people don't agree with the propaganda that anti-social behaviour is reducing. However, with police resources so low, I reckon the cops can only do so much. Perhaps they can be a bit tougher on the yobs who are gradually ruining Dawlish, but maybe they've got bigger problems in Newton or Exeter to deal with. 

In reality, it needs the community of Dawlish to fight back against these guys and show them they're not welcome. Don't just sit back and let them ruin your paradise by the sea. Tell them their behaviour is inappropriate. Then tell them again. And then again! If you own a food shop, don't give them your leftovers at the end of the day. You're only encouraging them. You'll only end up with more leftovers. And guess why? Coz you encouraged the very people who put off the tourists. It's time for every decent citizen of Dawlish to stand up and be counted if you reject this drug-taking, free-loading group of people who continue to blight a once fine town.

Time is ticking. I reckon we are looking at another year of this behaviour, at most, before the tourists get wise to the undercurrent of nastiness, and the holiday parks loose bookings hand over fist, then shops that rely on visitors struggle to survive.

They report that crime numbers are down. Why and how is that is it because they do not report or arrest these people. You can make up any numbers you want but it's not factual. We the residents of Dawlish see it all the time and to some degree we feel immune but to a tourist it must stand out more to them.

I have started my own campaign of sending emails to the relevent enforcement people and i will keep sending them. If anyone is interested in sending your own complaints and observations below are some importent email contacts. Perhaps if enough people contact them we may get more help. And also don't forget the Chief Constable wants to get rid of the only two PSCO's we have in Dawlish.

Neighbourhood team leader Sargeant Newton Abott.

Jonathan.ross@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk

Sector Inspector.

Andrew.tomlinson@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk

Teignbridge ASB assigned for Dawlish.

Rob.kingdon@teignbridge.gov.uk

Thanks for these contacts. I'll use them next time I'm in town if I spot anything.