The seaside resort on the Irish Sea coast, known for its iconic Pleasure Beach, old-school amusement park, and famed promenade, still remains a popular tourist destination in 2023, attracting visitors from all over the country.
However, the well-known seaside town still holds a reputation for crime and anti-social behaviour. Recent figures released by security company, ADT, show two Blackpool postcodes were in the top ten UK postcodes for the highest crime rates recorded between May 2022 to April 2023.
Despite these negative statistics, Blackpool was voted number one in the top 10 underrated UK destinations for summer holidays – which has also been proved by a recent influx of visitor numbers.
Mirror reporter, Danielle Wroe, visited Blackpool this summer to find a total of 2,200 people had made the journey to the seaside town on a wet and miserable Sunday to enjoy the attractions.
In the wet and rainy weather, visitors were enjoyed the attractions in the thousands from Blackpool Tower to the ballroom that hosts the iconic BBC show, Strictly Come Dancing.
Ms Wroe described her fond childhood memories “trying to win plushies on claw machines” to “riding on rollercoasters” and “enjoying the fresh sea air” as reasons for her nostalgic visit.
Speaking to the Mirror, tourist Matthew Morris had embarked on a 522-mile round trip from Essex with his family, Sam, Stanley and Imogen, despite the terrible, rainy forecast.
Mr Morris explained he had visited the theme park before, while Sam confessed he was a “seasoned theme park enthusiast” who had also visited just three weeks earlier.
The sights also draw in not just families, but adult couples looking for a thrill-seeking adventure. Gemma Smith and Lee Stafford, both in their 30s, admitted the main pull for them was the ‘Valhalla’ log flume. The adrenaline junkies from the Lake District, came solely to see what the ride was like, and showered it with praise.
While they argued that the Pleasure Beach was “expensive”, they said it was “worth it” due to the “buzz” from the rides.
Another tourist pointed out that tourism was the main attraction for the seaside town, in general.
They added: “Unfortunately like many seaside towns in the UK, other than tourism, they don’t have much else in the way of employment and income. So they make for quite deprived areas. The main seafront is nice but go two or three streets inland of the beach and you will see the social issues of the area.”
Crime is rife with figures on police.uk showing that in 2023 up until May, 740 crimes were reported between Blackpool’s North Pier and Coral Island’s Family Arcade. The majority of the crimes were “anti-social behaviour”, but there is also a high level of “violence and sexual offences”, along with “shoplifting”.
However, local resident, Laura, who works for Blackpool Pier, feels safe in her new home town having moved up from London 18 months ago.
Laura explained: “You can enjoy life more up here. I live in South Shore so it’s a bit quieter, away from central, but still close enough that I can get to everything. In terms of people, I can’t complain at all. I could have my front door open and know that it is safe, which a lot of people wouldn’t believe because they’re like ‘Oh Blackpool’, but I could happily do that.”
She added: “I feel safe walking the streets at night even after having a drink. I like the fact it’s touristy here, living in London before, I was quite used to tourists and being around everyone from everywhere, so it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
A spokesperson for Blackpool Council said: “As a local authority, we are wholly committed to improving the quality of life of our town’s residents, as well as continuing to attract the millions of visitors who come to Blackpool every year because they love it so much.”
“Whilst Blackpool is so well known for fun and happy times, like many other seaside towns it is faced with both economic and health challenges including high levels of deprivation, dependency and social need and we are doing much to tackle these issues head-on.”
The council added: “Working proactively alongside our colleagues in the NHS, as well as other partners, we provide a number of health and welfare schemes to try and ensure that families, children and individuals get the help and advice that they need.”
