Crazy beaches: Anti-social behaviour plagues seaside towns amid record-breaking heatwave

Local residents have reported fights breaking out, items being thrown as well as verbal and physical abuse as young people descend on riverbanks and beaches as temperatures soar.

Incidents have been reported everywhere from Southend to Barry Island.

In Brighton, a teenager was stabbed after a large fight reportedly broke out on the packed seafront. Police cordoned off part of the promenade as a result of the attack.

Ugly scenes of antisocial behaviour were also seen in the Kent seaside town of Broadstairs over the Bank Holiday weekend causing businesses to shut and police to be drafted in. Hundreds of teenagers poured into the town and took over large areas of the beach, creating a disturbance, with many reportedly drinking alcohol.

Police officers were also assaulted at Bournemouth beach during "disorder involving a large number of people" and plans for an unofficial beach party in Southend-on-Sea led Essex Police to turn away 250 people from the city's railway stations in a bid to quell the event.

Youth-driven anti-social behaviour may be rising for a mixture of reasons, including schools breaking up for summer, warm weather drawing bigger crowds outside, and a lack of places for young people to go to.

Fewer job opportunities, cheap alcohol and nitrous oxide and families being less able to afford holidays during the cost of living crisis may also be contributing.

Social media is also increasingly being blamed for the chaos, with mass meetups organised online. Some of these moments are also being shared and glamourised online, with trending audio and music dubbed over the top.

'Losing faith in authority'

But youth workers like Ciaran Thaper from the Youth Endowment Fund say the violence and antisocial behaviour reflects wider problems facing teenagers.

Ciaran Thaper, Director of Public Affairs & Communications at the Youth Endowment Fund says: "I think that there is a point about the social contract in this country.

"You know, everyone's feeling it. People are losing faith in authority in the state. People are feeling their pockets become tighter and tighter. Just makes for this situation where unfortunately it's very easy for young people who are feeling disenfranchised to meet up and cause trouble."

A resident in Tynemouth, a beach town near Newcastle, which has seen large-scale gatherings, said: "It tends to be a weekend night. There's groups of kids sort of gathering on the on the beach.

Another resident of the town said: "You get verbal abuse, they stand outside, they throw things at you.

Another added that damage to buildings had been reported. "Tables have been thrown on the beach, they've been drawing on the building. There's been violence against staff as well."

'Causing a nuisance'

Dave Sutherland. Police and Crime Commissioner in Teesside, said: "Young people are gathering, being disorderly, causing a nuisance. And that is certainly an issue. It's not the only issue, but it's certainly an issue for a lot of our communities.

"Particularly at this time of the year, as the schools and the colleges break up, we have seen some instances of this."

'Austerity and cuts'

Matt Storey, Police and Crime Commissioner in Teesside: "It's the first generation of young people who have grown up without some of those support networks which were there previously.

"I think austerity and cuts to public services over the previous 14 years caused a huge impact on that youth provision having somewhere to go, a focus for young people."