We live in UK's poshest seaside town but it's like Magaluf mayhem this weekend – boozy louts bonk in the sea

The Irish Sun

11-07-2025

SUNBURNT music lovers high on drugs stagger out of the beachfront venue gnawing on bars of soap nicked from loos en route to the snaking taxi queue, which usually descends into a mass brawl.
Meanwhile inebriated men and women brazenly relieve themselves in the doorways of multi-million pound homes.
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Crowds of 5000 revellers cram on to the beach for SandFest
Credit: Sandfest
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Swanky Sandbanks descends into chaos during the festival
Credit: Sandfest
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Jennifer Krzyzanowska was horrified to see people so intoxicated they were gnawing on soap
Credit: BNPS
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Sophia Horwood says many locals dread the event
Credit: BNPS
This is SandFest, held in the ultra exclusive beach resort of Sandbanks in Dorset, home to the likes of Harry and
Gated driveways boast gleaming Porches, Range Rovers and Bentleys, while superyachts bob on the glistening blue sea.
It is famously one of the most expensive and prestigious places to live in Britain, but this weekend frustrated residents say their genteel neighbourhood resembles
More than 10,000 people are due to descend for a series of rowdy events - first a polo party called SandPolo, followed by SandFest, a music concert described as a "boutique beach festival" where headline acts have included Idris Elba, Rudimental and Tinie Tempah.
This Sunday house DJ Sonny Fodera tops
the bill
, alongside Katy B, Danny Howard and Saffron Stone, along with DJ sets from Elderbrook and Alex Mills.
Jennifer Krzyzanowska, 25, runs Shacks By The Shore, a popular snack bar doing a brisk trade on the edge of the sandy beach, but her team are already preparing for the worst.
'It's always horrendous,' she told The Sun when we visited this week. 'People are so out of it, I've seen guys coming out of there eating bars of blue soap.
'Every year when the venue empties, big fights break out because the taxi queue is so long, and people dive into the sea to cool off.
'There's all kinds going on in the water - they're having sex in there and using it as a toilet.
'The whole thing is a health hazard, but no-one is thinking about their health when they've been drinking in the baking hot sun all day.
We live in UK's 'Monte Carlo', it used to be millionaire's playground but now it's ruined by 80mph boy racers
'Another problem on a warm weekend is the beach will be absolutely rammed because the site takes up so much space.
"I know some local businesses have to bring in extra security.'
Jennifer's colleague Sophia Harwood, 20, added: 'It's basically just a massive all-day drinking session, it gets ugly. A lot of people don't like it.'
The tiny town is often referred to as Britain's answer to Monte Carlo - with property prices soaring three times higher than the national average.
But many locals feel shut out of the events, where VIP tickets go for £1,200.
Heavily intoxicated people are falling into hedges, and it can take over an hour to get out of the house.
Charlyn Dean
Sandbanks local
Charlyn Dean, 41, has a stunning four bedroom property in a prime location which rents out at £10,000 a week during the peak summer months.
But leading us through to her immaculate back garden, she points to her blighted view.
'As you can see, our garden is right behind the main stage and it gets unbelievably loud," she said.
'The whole place is packed out, heavily intoxicated people are falling into hedges, and it can take over an hour to get out of the house.
'It's frustrating to say the least.'
'It doesn't feel safe'
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Revellers drink all day and brawl on the beach when the event ends
Credit: Sandfest
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Residents have witnessed party goers bonking in the sea
Credit: Sandfest
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Charlyn Dean and Holly Jones' garden backs on to the main stage
Credit: BNPS
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Frustrated Bill and Margaret Sharp protect their home with police cones
Credit: BNPS
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Locals say the event attracts people looking for trouble
Credit: BNPS
Equally frustrated by the chaos are retired couple Margaret and Bill Sharp, both 80.
They are the proud owners of a charming beachfront apartment with sweeping views of Poole Harbour and the UNESCO-listed
They have invested in their own bright yellow police cones to cordon off their driveway.
Margaret explained: 'If we don't put the cones out people use our driveway for a party - they hang around drinking and dancing on their way out of the festival.
'They double park and it doesn't feel safe for us - there is no way an ambulance or fire engine could get down here if there was an emergency. It's dangerous.'
When we visited Sandbanks a vast swathe of the beach was cordoned off by high metal fences in preparation for the three days of festivities, squashing frustrated holiday makers closer together in the remaining space.
Meanwhile the rows of highly-prized beach huts on the idyllic peninsula have their coveted sea views obliterated for two weeks by enormous marquees and rows of portaloos, which locals say can cause quite the stench.
It's so depressing. When the festival is on we're just resigned to not going out, because if we do we can't get home again
Chris Weedon
Another issue is traffic. With only one narrow road leading on to the luxury peninsula from nearby Poole, the festivals create tailbacks for miles, and the only car park is rammed by 8am.
With traffic at a standstill, ticket holders have been known to simply abandon their cars across residents' driveways and even in the middle of the roundabout.
Kite surfer Chris Weedon, who lives with his wife Angela in a towering four storey house overlooking the beach, said of the event: 'It's so depressing.
'When the festival is on we're just resigned to not going out, because if we do we can't get home again.
'Late at night when the road is clear they roar down here on motorbikes, doing wheelies at 60mph. Someone is going to die.'
He added: 'The litter is just dire, people dump their bottles and cans and I usually spend an hour in the morning filling three sacks of rubbish from outside my house."
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Kite surfer Chris Weedon fills three sacks of rubbish in the aftermath of the event
Credit: BNPS
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Cops struggle to maintain order amid the chaos
Credit: BNPS
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Fleets of delivery vans block access to the beach on one of the warmest weekends
Credit: BNPS
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Highly-prized beach huts no longer have a sea view
Credit: BNPS
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Traffic is gridlocked and festival goers dump their cars at the side of the road
Credit: BNPS
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With the road at a standstill emergency vehicles have no way to get through
Credit: BNPS
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Sarah Phillips and Katie Fowler keep their kids well away from the events
Credit: BNPS
Local resident Dave Watts, 55, told us: "The parking is total chaos.
"There's only one car park here but it's completely full by seven or eight in the morning when there's an event on, which means locals can't just come and enjoy the beach on one of the nicest weekends of the year.'
He said anti-social behaviour is also rife, adding: "I've caught women squatting in my doorway - it's not just the men who feel they can urinate wherever they please."
In previous years it was reported that some horrified parents felt forced to leave the beach after a DJ unleashed a torrent of foul language.
Families were bombarded with swear words from the rowdy festival as they tried to enjoy a peaceful afternoon on the sand.
Mum-of-two Katie Fowler, 39, told us: 'It gets rowdy. We certainly won't be coming down here with the kids.
'Because the event takes up a big chunk of the beach, everyone else gets squeezed together.'
'It's like Magaluf'
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Dave Watts has caught men and women urinating in his doorway
Credit: BNPS
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Peter and Nina Martin were furious to find their pricey sea view blocked
Credit: BNPS
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The festival site takes up a huge chunk of the beach
Credit: Sandfest
Peter and Nina Martin, both 72, spend £3,000 a year renting a picture-perfect blue and white beach hut at Sandbanks, and usually visit every day throughout the summer.
But Peter sighed: 'We won't come near the place when these events are happening, we can't.
'These kids behave like they're in Magaluf or somewhere like that.
'There's too much fighting going on, and they pitch tents to sleep on the beach after the festival, even though camping is not allowed, and just dump their tents in the morning.
'It's annoying. This is a beautiful sandy beach and some days it can feel like the Caribbean here, but right now it looks like an ugly industrial estate.
'We've paid a lot of money for a sea view but all you can see from here is fences, tents and toilets.'
Christine Jeandren, 62, is also furious that her sea view is entirely obliterated for two whole weeks while organisers prepare for and dismantle the events.
She explained: 'The whole thing is ridiculous and locals don't want it, it's hell.
'All I can see is portaloos and there is no getting away from the smell of those toilets in this heat.
We won't come near the place when these events are happening, we can't. These kids behave like they're in Magaluf or somewhere like that
Peter Martin
'There are masses of youngsters everywhere and their behaviour is awful. I've caught teenagers smoking weed in the bushes, that stinks too.
'If I want to go in the sea we have to walk all the way around the fenced-off area, and you can hear the music blaring half an hour away.
'Sandbanks is just not set up for events this big. I don't understand why they don't move it further away to Bournemouth.
'We've been trying to get rid of it for 18 years.
'It usually takes us 15 minutes to get here on the bus from Poole but when this event is on it can take a couple of hours, the whole thing is gridlocked.
'Basically it's carnage.'
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Christine Jeandren has been battling for years to get the eyesore moved
Credit: BNPS
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Locals say the tiny town can't cope with such vast numbers of visitors
Credit: Sandfest
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VIP guests arrive in Sandbanks in style
Credit: BNPS
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5,000 people are expected on each day of the festival
Credit: BNPS
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The three-day extravaganza kicks off with polo matches
Credit: BNPS
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Locals say you can hear the music for miles around
Credit: James Bridle