Watch This “It’s a tragedy”: Residents claim “disrespectful” tourists are trampling flowerbeds turned Instagram hotspot By Jessica Martin Comment Published 24th Aug 2024, 15:02 BST Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now This video More videos Watch as local residents - who claim “disrespectful” tourists are ruining beautiful flower displays in search of Instagram pictures - show the damage to the grass and flowerbeds. Residents have claimed "disrespectful” tourists, eager to take selfies at an Instagram hotspot, are trashing public flowerbeds.
Westgate Gardens in Canterbury, Kent , has become a photography hotspot - but locals say visitors show "no respect" and are trampling on the flowers. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Read More Furious residents' anger over huge mountain of fly-tipped rubbish on 'Walking Dead' estate attracting rats I own Britain’s smallest shoe shop at 3ft wide - I can touch front and back walls standing on the same spot Meet the cute train station 'influencer' cat who helped save a ticket office from closure Keep up with the latest new videos with the Shots! Newsletter. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.
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The picturesque gardens are one of the most visited places in Canterbury - second only to the cathedral on Tripadvisor ’s list of the 10 best things to do in the city. There are no official rules on where visitors can stand in the gardens and Canterbury City Council (CCC) says fines are not issued for walking on the grass or flowers. Locals have complained of tourists trampling the flower beds at Westgate Gardens, one of the most-visited attractions in Canterbury, Kent.
| KMG / SWNS Local Terry Westgate said: “The tourists seem to think they can get these fantastic photographs from among the flowers, but they're showing no respect. “They have completely worn out the grass and it’s now got to the stage where they are standing in the flowerbeds to get the perfect pic, but in doing so, they are ruining it for everyone. It’s an absolute tragedy for all of Canterbury.
” Chris Henry, who operates punt river tours along the Stour, said: “The flowers have the effect of bringing people here in the first place, so it might be a price that we need to accept. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad “But I do think that if there was a bigger sign or maybe even a warden that was put in charge of the area around here, this sort of thing could be kept at a minimum.” A CCC spokesperson said: “We are pleased the flower displays in the Westgate Gardens are so popular and it's nice to see pictures popping up worldwide on Instagram, TikTok and other social media sites.
“Obviously it's sad to see some of the plants getting damaged, but we believe this is only by a tiny minority of visitors to the park. We understand the concerns that residents have raised about the damage and will be considering options for small changes we could make in that area of the park that would protect the flowerbeds and still allow those stunning photographs to be taken.” Continue Reading Related topics: Gardens Residents Instagram Kent TripAdvisor Social media Plants TikTok Cathedral Comment Comment Guidelines National World encourages reader discussion on our stories.
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