Tourists flood Cornwall's beaches and seaside towns, infuriating locals who say visitors aren't social distancing

TOURISTS are returning to Cornwall as Brits head to the coast for a seaside staycation – but locals have been left fuming by the large crowds and lack of social distancing.

Popular towns including St Ives and Penzance have seen busy streets, with few people wearing face masks or staying 1m away from each other.

Holidays across England have resumed since July 4, when the UK government allowed overnight stays at hotels and self-catered accommodation, as well as campsites and caravan parks.

Cornwall is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the UK, with long stretches of beaches and quaint port towns.

However, locals have complained that tourists are going to the area to "escape coronavirus" – and don't follow the guidelines.

According to the Guardian, one local in St Ives said: “They’re in holiday mode, bumping around all over the place.

"They think there’s no coronavirus in Cornwall. Locals are split between those who are delighted that the economy is booming and others who are putting up signs that say: ‘F*** off, tourists."

Earlier this month, a group were slammed for putting up a sign along a main road bridge into Cornwall telling holidaymakers to 'f*** off' and go back home.

On social media, other families who live in Cornwall were just as furious over holidaymakers.

One man said: "Penzance very busy no social distancing, and St Ives is off the scale."

Another person tweeted: "All the tourists have come down to Cornwall too and don't wear masks and there are so many different people in my building every week it makes me want to rip my hair out."

One woman, who works for the NHS, wrote: "So apparently, people are coming down on holiday to #Cornwall to ‘get away from covid’ and the rules that exist as a result.

"I honestly have felt more unsafe this week than I have done working in the emergency department over the past five months."

Some called for tourist towns not to be allowed to welcome visitors if they cannot social distance: "Towns like St Ives should not be open to tourists.

"I was luckily able to distance and wore a mask/used hand gel to pop in and out of somewhere but the crowds there are making absolutely no effort to distance by even 1m, and not a single mask in sight.

"If these small seaside towns make distancing impossible then they shouldn’t be f****** open. End of."

Towns like St Ives should not be open to tourists

However, Cornwall tourism boss Malcom Bell has warned the West Country resorts won't survive without the money that outsiders spend in shops, pubs and attractions.

He said: "We are battling to save thousands of jobs. Let's welcome our customers, who will share their money to keep Cornish people in jobs."

New measures are being introduced to help the summer season – some parts, including St Ives, Falmouth and Truro, are banning cars and closing roads this summer to allow visitors to social distance.

Mr Bell explained other new measures to expect on a Cornish holiday: "The bulk of popular attractions will be doing timed ticketing and all restaurants will be doing reservations."

"We need to also avoid people turning up and queuing at places, so for takeaway food like fish and chips, people will need to order their food online and then wait to be told when to collect it.

"So people will have to think ahead and book before they go on holiday."

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