People in Britain's 'most dangerous migrant town' call for tourist tax to pay for crackdown on anti-social behaviour

Published: 17:44, 4 June 2026 | Updated: 17:44, 4 June 2026 A holiday resort town home to several migrant hotels is demanding a tourism tax to pay for the effects of anti-social behaviour. Officials in Bournemouth want government clearance to make hotels and B&B owners to start charging guests a tax on top of their accommodation bills. Locals in the town feel its character has been ruined by an influx of migrants as well as teenage gangs and drug addicts, and some have protested outside migrant hotels. But some of the asylum seekers in the town actually agree with local sentiment - having previously told the Mail they would prefer to go home.  The extra income from the tourist tax will go towards the ongoing costs of 'managing' the Dorset resort's popular beaches and seafront area during busy periods, including the appointment of more seafront rangers and investment in litter cleanup. Last week in the middle of the heatwave council staff collected 83 tonnes of waste - including tents, food packaging and empty cans and bottles - after everyone had gone home. If the Lib Dem-run council gets government approval to introduce a levy, overnight visitors can expect to pay about £2 per person per night, meaning a week's holiday for a family of four will be £56 dearer. Hospitality chiefs have warned such a tax would only put people off taking domestic holidays - and would unfairly penalise those respecting the town. Police in Bournemouth are seen detaining a man on the beach during the May Bank Holiday. Warm weather brings about a wave of anti-social behaviour in the coastal resort Bournemouth was the target of a number of anti-migrant protests last summer (pictured) Millie Earl, the leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, said: 'Our area is a resort and for the vast majority of people who respect our area, we really welcome them, but it is a very small minority of people who want to come and cause disorder and commit crime. 'It's those people who we don't want to come to our area, and quite honestly, our message is that they're not welcome. 'A visitor levy is allowed to happen in other areas, and it's unfair that it's not happening here.' Bournemouth has weathered a storm of anti-social behaviour in recent years.  It prompted local man Gary Bartlett to set-up his own vigilante patrol group, the Safeguard Force - now Safeguard Community Support - which monitors the streets at night. At one point, one of the town's asylum hotels was home to a group of migrants who were sentenced for violent crimes over just 10 days - earning Bournemouth the unfortunate moniker of the UK's 'most dangerous migrant town'. Halil Dal, a Turkish migrant put up at the South Coast town's Britannia Hotel, was spared jail at the end of September last year after drunkenly stabbing a man with a broken bottle. Days earlier, Shkar Jamal, who has been living in the same property, missed his own sentencing for threatening a man with a snooker cue - before being discovered tucking into fish and chips nearby instead. Meanwhile, Kurdish migrant Hana Hassan was one of a 12-strong mob armed with machetes who attacked a shopkeeper in the town following a nightclub dispute. And earlier this year, migrant Abdoela Berhan was convicted of punching Cleo Lake in the face outside a Bournemouth nightclub after she rejected his advances. She was knocked unconscious in the assault.  Berhan - who stayed at a migrant hotel in the town and was convicted of attacking a Subway worker - is still on the run. One local who lives just along from the Britannia previously told the Mail: 'I've lived here since 2008 and I can say that Bournemouth has changed.' Another said: 'I used to walk comfortably in the evening, but I don't go out now.' A Jordanian asylum seeker, Ahmad Hani, said he felt so unsafe in the hotel he called home, telling the Mail last October: 'I have spoken to the Home Office to go back to my country.  'There is too much crime. Police don't help any people here in Bournemouth. 'Some people living in the hotel don't have any feelings for animals, people or children. Some are dangerous in the hotel, they are seriously bad people.' The tourist tax will be used to clean up Bournemouth's beaches after busy days (pictured: youths inhaling from a balloon on the beach during the May Bank Holiday) Last year, the Bournemouth Safeguard Force - now Safeguard Community Support - was established to help assure locals The council has also asked the government for permission to increase parking fines for visitors who leave their cars on double yellow lines, on grass verges and roundabouts and across private driveways. The current fine is £35. Alistair Hardyside, chair of the South West Tourism Alliance, said hotels and B&B owners should not have to recoup an extra tax on its guests. He said: 'Domestic tourism is already in decline in rural coastal areas in the south west. There has been a 21 per cent decline since 2025. 'So if you have a market that is struggling and in decline you probably don't want to whack a tax on top of it.' Rosie Radwell, chair of the BH Area Hospitality Association, said: 'It's not fair to charge families that are coming down, staying overnight and having a nice time.' She added that there would be no issue if the money was to be spent on tourism-boosting events rather than boosting council coffers. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. 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