Our picturesque seaside beauty spot has become an ‘eyesore’ – it’s not a nice place to visit anymore
RESIDENTS in a seaside city say their treasured home has become blighted by drugs paraphernalia, litter and human faeces.
Broken glass, booze tinnies and discarded underwear are just some of the grim items that riddle the coastal path in Plymouth, Devon.
The Hoe and Barbican areas are worst hit by problem drinkers who defecate on footpaths and tourists who don't bother to pick up litter.
Nicky Hammett, who runs a business on the Hoe told the scenes have made life "horrible" and demanded "patrols" be rolled out to monitor the antics.
He added: "It’s not a nice area to visit in the evening... on a really busy sunny day or a bank holiday, it gets really bad then and then the rubbish stacks up and the seagulls get at it."
As well as drink swiggers smashing bottles and urinating up walls, takeaway boxes and drugs items scatter the pavement.
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Tearaways even smashed up not one, but two floral memorials to a young lad that died, all in the space of 48 hours.
The ongoing carnage has got so bad that some residents fear the litter is not just an "eyesore", but quickly becoming a danger to wildlife.
Blasting the state of the area, Tinside beach swimmer Rob said he is forced to wage a daily war against waste.
He added: "Myself and one or two others are constantly, daily, filling bags of broken wine and spirit glass, fast food detritus, cans, discarded underwear, drugs, drug paraphernalia and often sanitary items."
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Amide the chaos - which street cleaners are frantically trying to tackle - a Public Space Protection Order is in place on the Hoe and the Barbican.
This is despite the area being a designated an alcohol free zone.
In response, a Plymouth City Council spokesperson told PlymouthLive that with over 200 bins across the city - emptied up to three times a day - "there is absolutely no excuse for littering".
They added: "If you can’t immediately see a bin or the bin nearest to you happens to be full, keep your rubbish with you and take it home."