Posh, partying teens are causing a wave of problems in Polzeath, with reports of fighting, drugs, vandalism and debauchery
Looking down on Polzeath from a clifftop path, I could see no sign of debauchery, no debris left over from illegal beach parties, no teenagers passed out in the sand. On the contrary, there were children bodyboarding in the sea while families played games of football and cricket on the beach. I couldn’t help but wonder what all the fuss had been about.
Recent reports have cast an entirely different light on the normally peaceful village on Cornwall’s north coast. Hordes of affluent schoolchildren from the UK’s top private schools, released for the summer two weeks earlier than their state school peers and eager to blow off steam, had descended on the village and turned it into a kind of Sodom of the South West, drinking and fighting, having sex in the open air, and vandalising property. Some accounts suggested that drug dealers had travelled down to spice up proceedings, selling pills and powder to the young revellers. Windows have been smashed, benches ripped up and burnt. One resident reportedly came out one morning to find his car’s door handles had been urinated on.
“They think it’s their right to wreak havoc,” one local told me. “It’s especially intimidating if you live in the village and come down to the beach at night to find 200 teenagers.”
Polzeath is not as overtly pretty as some Cornish seaside villages, but there’s a California-style charm to the mismatched buildings that huddle around its sandy beach, and a laid-back vibe permeates the air. There’s money here too. Sitting awkwardly beside modest pebble-dashed bungalows are huge modernist villas with floor-to-ceiling windows facing out into the bay. It’s presumably to these places that many of the teenagers retreat after a night of partying. More come from Rock, an even wealthier enclave further to the south. Some arrive in taxis but most, according to locals, are dropped off by their parents.