RESIDENTS at war with second-home owners in a cute seaside town say their council tried to help - but a loophole has made it a disaster. Out-of-towners have snapped up one in four properties in Tenby on the south Wales coast. 1 A ploy to crack down on second-home owners in Tenby has backfired, locals say Credit: Alamy Pembrokeshire County Council has slapped second-home owners with a 200 per cent premium on council tax - tripling their bill.
The tax raid was popular with locals who fear being priced out of their hometown. But it has now caused a "disaster" - with a loophole making the situation even worse. Second-home owners can swerve the premium by putting their homes up for sale.
There are now a whopping 172 properties for sale in Tenby on Zoopla - most of which are sitting empty. Many of the homes on offer are luxury sea-view pads far beyond the budget of first-time buyers. Estate agent Carol Peett told the Sunday Times : "The sitation is a nightmare - total disaster.
"It's killing the economy totally. There are loads of empty houses on the market that were holiday cottages. Most read in Money UNION BERLIN 4-4 GERS Dessers & Lawrence at the double for Rangers in German goal-fest AIRPORT CHAOS New Manchester Airport vid shows police being punched before man was kicked SEX ASSAULT Woman raped in horror attack as cops seal off area near Scots school FATAL SMASH Three dead following horror crash on Scots road as driver rushed to hospital "People aren't buying them.
The local .