huntpaulineee: Clean-up in Newquay as mankinis are banned at seaside resort ...

Clean-up in Newquay as mankinis are banned at seaside resort Getty

Cornish seaside resort Newquay is taking drastic action to wipe its streets of drunken stag parties - by banning visitors from wearing mankinis.

The Daily Mail reports that police in the seaside town say the decision to ban the revealing one-piece and other 'inappropriate clothing' has helped significantly reduce anti-social behaviour and recorded crime.

Officers say Newquay is shedding its reputation as a resort for drunken revellers and stag parties as a result of the zero-tolerance approach to risqu? fancy dress.

Some tourists, including 15-year-old children, have been sent home as a result of their anti-social behaviour, while adult fun-seekers have had their skimpy fancy dress costumes seized by police - including thong-like bathing suits mankinis.

The news is a delight for locals who had become used to seeing men walking around their home town in the tiny costumes.

Devon and Cornwall Police Superintendent Julie Whitmarsh spoke of the successful summer season and said: 'We have had this consistency of seizing inappropriate items of clothing, sending people home to get changed, and that has worked, it has made a real difference, this 'no-nonsense attitude.'

'Mankini is what we term "offensive clothing", so we won't accept people wearing them. They are just hideous.'

'Is it just me, but if you were living in Bath for example, or Bournemouth, is that something you would wear to walk into town on a Saturday afternoon? No.

'They are just revolting, there is nothing pleasant about seeing anybody in a mankini. We have had a real crackdown on the fake penises.

'And people are getting that message. You look at the images you see of Newquay now, 2009 is three years ago and we are in a very different place.'

Part of the award-winning Newquay Safe campaign, since the death of two teenagers in 2009 following separate drink-fuelled nights out, the tough stance has been welcomed by residents who want to take their town back from the clutches of anti-social tourists.

'There was a lot of anger, that for us was a real turning point and threw it into sharp focus,' said Superintendent Whitmarsh.

'It was just the constancy of what was happening, the ongoing situation. I've always been shocked at the number of families that come on holiday but don't all go home as a family.

'To have that number of incidents was a shock for all of those involved. It was a real catalyst for change.'

Newquay Safe won praise from Home Office ministers for its initiatives designed to cut crime. Police regularly called parents across Britain to collect their drunken children in the middle of the night, alcohol was seized and stag and hen parties were sometimes banned from going into the resort.

'I remember one of our PCSOs said a 16-year-old boy had 64 cans of super-strength lager at 2pm,' Supt Whitmarsh told the Daily Mail.

'But the mother had a real go at the police saying they had ruined the boy's fun.

'But it isn't fun if you see the immediate harm a can of super-strength lager can cause a 16-year-old, let alone 64 between five of them.

'There is an attitude of "what goes on tour, stays on tour", that that's ok, but it is not.'

Superintendent Whitmarsh, who has two sons aged 14 and 11, said some parents' attitudes have contributed to the problems associated with anti-social behaviour among drunken teens.

She said: 'You get adults dropping their children off with, literally, a boot full of alcohol, and they say: "I'd rather know what they are drinking"'.

Officers say the message is finally getting through to many parents and reported crime during the summer season fell by one fifth this year compared with 2009, while reports of anti-social behaviour dropped from 685 in the summer of 2009 to 286 this season.

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Thought mankini-wearers were bad? Check out these bad traits of Brits on holiday...

Sporting naff tourist wear
 You're not a war reporter or an intrepid white hunter, you're just checking out the sights of central Rome, so you do not need a lightweight, multi pocket Traveller waistcoat. By the same token, nothing will mark you out as a tourist faster than a fanny pack. You may as well wear a big flashing sign saying 'Yes, I'm carrying all my valuables in this ridiculous bum bag. Please rob me.' Just wear normal clothes, like a normal person.
Moaning about how expensive things are
 You don't go to Iceland or the Maldives expecting a cheap bar bill (not if you've done your research anyway), so there's no point in banging on about how a beer's twice the price it would be in your local pub. Equally, the guy selling you a rug which costs the equivalent of a week's wages for him probably doesn't LOVE hearing about how  'ridiculously cheap' it is.
Eating the same food as at home
 'I haven't tried it because I don't like it' isn't an acceptable excuse for not trying new food when you're two years old, so it definitely won't wash now you're old enough to fly without a label round your neck.
Insisting on speaking only English
 Despite evidence to the contrary, there is no defective gene in British people that renders them incapable of using foreign languages. Yes, a lot of people in the world speak English, but plenty don't and there's absolutely no reason why we shouldn't try to converse in their language, in their country, rather than talking English very s l o w l y and LOUDLY.
Moaning about the weather
 Sure, it's disappointing when it's overcast on your beach holiday or the snow's slushy on your ski trip but there's not a sausage your tour rep or the locals can do about it, so quit your whining and look on the bright side - you'll save heaps on sunscreen and get really good at Scrabble.
Playing the superior traveller
 If you've ever uttered the words 'oh, I'm not a tourist, I'm a traveller', you are most likely the kind of extremely annoying person who considers yourself morally and culturally superior because you've never stayed in a hotel listed in a guidebook. No matter how far off grid you go, how many henna tattoos you get and how many famous sights you actively avoid visiting, if you're travelling in a foreign country, you're still a tourist. End of.
Talking about 'doing' places
 You 'do' the washing-up, a crossword or some gardening. You don't 'do' a country, city or sight, you visit it, see it, experience it, enjoy it. No one ever had a horizon expanding  experience by approaching travelling in the same way as they do their weekly supermarket shop.
Disturbing the peace
 I was once swimming in a secluded lake in Sweden.  It was a beautiful summer day and the peace and silence were total. Until suddenly, from the other side of the water, someone shouted: 'Oi! Dave! Get us a beer!', in a voice loud enough to carry across Wembley Stadium. I won't say what nationality they were, but there's a clue in there somewhere...
Not doing your research
 Its never been easier to access all the information you could possibly ever need, instantly. So if you're still referring to the Czech Republic as Czechoslovakia when you're in Prague, or asking whether they take Euros in a Copenhagen boutique, its time to get busy with Wikipedia before you step off that plane.
Treating locals as your own personal photographers
 You may be on holiday, but all these local people are not merely extras in the movie entitled 'My Holiday.' They have jobs to go to, lives to live and quite possibly they have better things to do for fifteen minutes than getting to grips with your smartphone's camera app while you block the street and pull moronic poses to post on your Facebook page.