HOTELIERS and guest house owners have spoken out over the ‘horrendous’ behaviour of youths on Weymouth seafront this summer.

There are major concerns about unruly youths who have been hanging around the beach huts in front of Brunswick Terrace causing a disturbance in the evenings.

Traders say they are desperate and have been left feeling ‘unsafe’, and want police to do more to clamp down on the behaviour which they say is hurting the reputation of their businesses.

The anti-social behaviour has reportedly gone on for much of the summer, but it came to a head on one evening last week when an encounter between youths and the police resulted in one girl being arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: “We were called to reports of a group of young people behaving in an anti-social manner near to the beach huts in Brunswick Terrace. Officers attended and a 17-year-old girl from Weymouth was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. She was released under investigation.”

Alison Weller, owner of Channel View Guest House and chairman of the Weymouth Hoteliers, Guesthouses and Leaseholders Association, said there have been problems by the beach huts during the summer months for some years – but not like this.

She said: “We are having a major problem with it at the moment. I have been here for fifteen years and this is the worst ever.”

She added: “People are coming and staying and being subjected to the noise, the drinking, the swearing.”

Mrs Weller said: “It’s reached a head at this point because we need something done desperately.”

One guesthouse owner, who wished to remain anonymous, thought the behaviour of the youths was “horrendous.”

He said: “You read our reviews and people are complaining in the reviews. It’s going to put people off coming to Weymouth.”

He added: “We are not having a go at the police, but we are not safe anymore. We are not safe because we are the ones going over there trying to sort it out.”

Another hotelier, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: “Somehow we have got to get better patrols down here, especially in the evening between 8pm and 2am.”

Inspector Steve Yeoman, of Weymouth police, said: “We have received a number of reports from members of the community about incidents of anti-social behaviour near to the beach huts in the Brunswick Terrace area of Weymouth.

“We have visited the area and spoken to local residents. Enhanced high-visibility patrols have also been carried out and will continue. The force is working with the local authority and other local agencies to deter such behaviour, including preventative measures.”

“I would like to remind everyone that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated in our communities and we will deal with such incidents robustly.”