22-06-2025
EXCLUSIVE Desperate locals demand 'flower cops' to patrol park after kids trample over beloved poppy fields at Cornish landmark
For a few weeks each summer it is one of Britain's most Instagrammable spots but as remote poppy fields on the Cornish coast burst into flower, selfish selfie-hunters have been accused of trampling the plants and threatening locals.
In the last few years, visitors have been treated to stunning scenery with acres of spectacular red blooms on National Trust land overlooking the azure blue ocean.
But a surge of photos posted on social media has drawn tens of thousands more visitors every year.
Now, ageing residents in the tiny village of West Pentire, Cornwall, say they have almost given up asking visitors not to climb among the poppies - despite obvious signage - because it so often leads to aggressive confrontations.
The problem has become so bad in recent weeks that dozens of frustrated locals have shared pictures of visitors trampling poppies and threatened to create Dad's Army-style patrols to ensure they follow the rules.
One local said: 'Maybe we need to set up a GoFundMe for patrols.'
Richard Greenwood, 80, a retired consultant physician, said: 'The poppies attract a lot of people, the last five or six years we have had these magnificent displays.
'But then people started to come and the numbers have been going up each year. I am keen to preserve it but now I have really lost heart.
'I used to speak to people who were trampling the poppies and letting their dogs run around and taking photos of their kiddies and tell them it's damaging it for everybody else.
'A few people got quite aggressive, lots of ''F words'', people just think they're entitled to do whatever they want.
'At my stage in life I don't need that.
'A couple of years ago the National Trust which owns the fields started putting up ropes and signs. They are much better this year but they probably went up about two weeks too late so people have already trodden paths which others think it's fine to follow.'
Artist Sally Blackford, 78, added: 'I love the sight of the poppies, I paint them and I love all the wild flowers.
'Most people respect this very special and beautiful place but people want their photo opportunities and they don't care if they break down the fences and hedges to get them.
The National Trust has installed signs to tell visitors about the wonderful landscape
'It's people of all ages but especially those with small children.
'When we point out the damage they are doing they just say 'well somebody went over before us', they just blame other people.
'The signage is so good and so clear but people don't think it applies to them, I don't know what will stop them.
'It's a great shame because it's there for everybody to enjoy but what these people are doing is spoiling it.'
When MailOnline visited this week, we found families of all ages ignoring the clear warning signs urging them to stay on the path and scrambling over centuries-old stone walls and under rope boundaries to get amongst the poppies.
One young couple with their pet dog blatantly ignored rules to snap a quick photo crouching among the poppies with Crantock Bay in the background, another family asked strangers to help to scale a stone wall in order to get amongst the poppies.
John Sleep, 86, says he has taken to repairing ancient stone walls every day after tourists carelessly damaged them in pursuit of the perfect shot among the flowers.
He said: 'Since this started we have walked down there every day, I find it annoying because all the locals here like to respect the headland and we want to keep that up.
'Almost every day I tell people to get out and the response is almost always the same, the tracks were there before and they're not doing any damage.
'It's got to the point where even visitors are commenting on the bad behaviour of others.
'The hedges are worn and broken in seven or eight places because people want to make a vantage point for their camera.
'It's not just them, it's them and their pets or their children sitting in the poppies. Somebody has taken a photo and put it on Facebook and they want to recreate exactly the same picture, it's sheep behaviour really. It's quite sad.'
Caterer Sonya Rogers, 50, said: 'I have seen a lot of people going into the fields even though the signs are pretty clear.
