Illegal campers causing nuisance in West Bexington

Residents of West Bexington have said they are fed up of constant disruption by the wild campers on Chesil Beach.

In 2021, a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) was instituted which made it illegal for visitors to camp on any of the beaches between Burton Bradstock and Abbotsbury.

Earlier this year, plans were devised to try and tackle the problem of wild camping in the area.

Anti-social behaviour measures and increased patrols were introduced.

A local resident, however, said they have not seen any patrols this year.

They said: “We were told there were going to be patrols, we have only seen one at about 11am on the May Bank Holiday Monday.

“They keep telling us they have to be in other places.”

It is understood the visitors have been creating a noise nuisance for residents of West Bexington, with loud music and late-night fireworks.

A local resident said: “It is a nightmare, one night we had fireworks going off at around midnight.

“We have had lots of loud music, fires close to shrubbery, and rubbish on the beach.

“They are also parking in front of the slipway which is an emergency access to the beach for the lifeboat.

“Nothing is going to be done until something really bad happens.

“There are only two places where this happens, in West Bexington and in Abbotsbury, if it was happening in Weymouth or West Bay they would clamp down on it immediately.”

Chesil Bank councillor Mark Roberts has called the issue of wild camping in the area a “constant battle”.

He said: “We have a constant battle with wild camping here every year.

“We believe there are websites which indicate suitable places to wild camp and this area has been listed as one of them.

“We are working to contact local authorities of areas which have people who regularly visit here to spread the word that you cannot camp here.

“There are plenty of legal campsites, you cannot just assume the beach is available to stay on.”

Cllr Roberts has called on local residents to continue reporting the wild camping incidents to Dorset Council.

He said: “I know this is an issue of great concern to residents and it is being escalated.

“We encourage all residents to separately report the incidents on the Dorset Council website.”

A Dorset Council spokesperson said: “I can confirm that a mobile control team will be in operation later this month.

“They will concentrate their patrol on coastal hotspots.

“There will also be extra CCTV to help support the public spaces protection order which is already in place.”