A once-thriving seaside town has now been turned into a “dump” littered with rubbish, according to disgruntled tourists.

Clacton-on-Sea in Essex was once so popular that the A12 was built to cope with the influx of visitors.

Fast forward to 2023 and people aren’t so keen to visit.

“The town is a public loo writ large,” exclaimed a disgruntled Tim W on Tripadvisor.

Some tourists weren’t kind about the beach either. David Q wrote: “This so-called beach allows dogs which urinate and defecate all over the place.

“It would most definitely fail any health and safety inspection.”

Another said they didn’t make it to the beach, saying after “walking through a filthy town centre we returned to our car as quickly as possible.” Meanwhile another simply said: “What a dump.”

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A fourth visitor described it as “a shadow of past glory”, complaining “it was as if the Gods had conspired against me to ruin my day”.

He even lamented the Tubby Isaacs’ fish stall as “overpriced” and “offering miniscule portions”, saying the original Tubby who emigrated to America must be “turning in his grave”. 

Nevertheless, the negative reviews – as shocking as they are – are in the minority.   

With an average 4.5 star rating out of over 1,000 reviews, one recent visitor described Clacton-on-Sea as having a “terrific beach” while another explained: “Rides were great! So much fun and laughter was had! Will definitely be going again!! Thank you!”

Clacton was home to the pier of the year in 2020, according to the National Piers Society, with several rides including a helter-skelter and the Looping Star rollercoaster which was opened in 2021 after being bought from an Aberdeen amusement park. 

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The town would have undoubtedly won awards in the early 20th Century too, when it attracted thousands of working class holidaymakers from the East End of London and parts of Essex.

A Butlin’s was built just before World War Two, and was taken over by the Army during the war as a training camp. 

It resumed its strong tourism status after the war, while a pirate radio ship which broadcast Wonderful Radio London, was anchored just off Clacton-on-Sea from 1964 to 1967, when it was forced to close. 

The town’s tourism prominence declined with the rise in cheap flights to the Mediterranean, leaving it with high unemployment, as is the case in many seaside towns around the UK.

Nowadays, house prices in the area are slightly below the national average at £269,739 according to Rightmove. 

Served by two secondary schools, one received a “needs improvement” rating by Ofsted, while the other was most recently given “good” – and is also one of the schools affected by aerated concrete crisis.   

Clacton’s MP Giles Watling scolded the negative reviews and provided a passionate defence of the town: “I am proud of this community and our Sunshine Coast, which despite the difficulties faced by coastal towns has continued to be a place that people visit to enjoy the town and beach. 

“A few poor TripAdvisor reviews by disgruntled people looking to whine at anything mean nothing to me when I know that our beaches have been nationally recognised with awards for their quality. 

“I will continue to bang the drum for Clacton and argue that investment here is necessary for levelling up, but our community is not what some professional moaners would have you believe it is. 

“I’ve managed to secure £20m for levelling up our constituency, we’ve got development bringing investment to areas like Jaywick, and crime has fallen significantly recently – those that talk down about Clacton simply don’t know what they’re talking about. 

“Bring on the investment, level up Clacton, but to paint it the way some of these reviews do simply isn’t true.”

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