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Our seaside town has been slammed as the ‘worst place on earth’ but we’re LUCKY to live here
RESIDENTS of a seaside town slammed as the "worst place on earth" have hit back and said how lucky they feel to live there.
Jubilee Beach in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, was once dubbed the resort’s best, but was recently blasted on TripAdvisor.
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Visitors warned others to "stay away" from the sandy bay, saying it was littered with trash, and filled with "drug dealers, drug takers";.
While one TripAdvisor review dubbed the beach the "worst place on earth", visiting mums said they wouldn't even let their kids play on the beach.
Another said: "All you can smell is weed everywhere, it's full of 16-year-olds blasting music and parents dirty-dancing on each other."
But locals have now said they love their "beautiful" home - and it's the tourists who ruin it.
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The residents say they enjoy their town most months of the year, but avoid the beach in summertime.
They say that's because visitors swarm the coastline, dropping their litter and getting into drunken fights.
Dave Cook, 72, said he walks his dog every day during the off season, but stays away when tourists start arriving.
He told The Sun Online: "It's beautiful in the winter, we're lucky to have it.
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"It is what is, we're in the estuary so we're looking out on dirty water and mud flats rather than the sea.
"But in the summer I stop coming here with my dog, it's so crowded with lots of rubbish and droves of council workers trying to keep everyone in line.
"There's no space to walk and there's no point in having more bins because none of the tourists use the ones we already have."
Dave dubbed his town "a Cinderella area".
The 72-year-old continued: "It's the poor man's Brighton really, it doesn't have Brighton's class or Hastings' old world feel.
"Right here in Jubilee Beach is a bit of a Cinderella area, it's troubled and feels left behind - definitely the bad end of Southend."
Fellow dog walker Steve Dadds, 41, agreed the visitors are the problem.
He said: "People from out of town come in massive numbers during the summer.
"They leave so much litter and get in fights, it becomes very unpleasant.
"But I've been all over the place and it's just as nice as anywhere else in Britain.
"It could do with a lot of investment generally."
'REALLY BAD IN SUMMER'
Much like visiting parents, local mums say they won't let their youngsters near the beach in summertime.
But, they again blamed those from out of town.
Natalie Pearson, 31, said: "It's really bad in summer, left quite messy.
"I've lived here for 12 years and it's gotten much worse with more and more tourists leaving more and more litter.
"It's really annoying and I try to avoid the area which is a shame because it's nice and quiet in winter.
"People come from London just to get drunk on the beach. They leave bottles and cans and I wouldn't bring my kid when the local drunks are hanging around."
Phoebe Roberts, 24, agreed: "It's always too busy even though there's plenty of open space further down towards Thorpe Bay.
"It's a bit rougher down this way, it's rowdy because of all the nightclubs and bars around.
"I've seen people have arguments in front of kids on the beach after having a few drinks - there's now police everywhere."
'BIG CROWDS LEAVING RUBBISH'
Phoebe's mum Nicole Roberts, 52, added: "I come here once a month during the autumn and winter - it's a calming place, you could be anywhere looking out into the water.
"But it's completely different during the summer - there's big crowds leaving rubbish everywhere.
"People just don't use their brains when there's a bin usually right there."
And some older locals still cherish their memories of Jubilee Beach before it was overwhelmed by tourists.
Tina Williams, 70, said: “We've been coming here since we were children.
"It's a typical British seaside resort, it was much less busy and messy when I was younger."
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Her husband Ross, 66, added: "It's lovely, I really don't get put off by the crowds or litter.
"I think the town's got nicer as money has come in, it could still do with a little more."
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