"Disrespectful” tourists eager to take selfies next to an Instagram hotspot are trashing public flowerbeds, residents claim.
Westgate Gardens in Canterbury, Kent, has become a photograph hotspot - but locals say visitors are showing "no respect" and trampling the flowers.
The picturesque gardens are one of the most visited parts of Canterbury - second only to the cathedral in Tripadvisor’s list of the 10 best things to do in the city.
But local Terry Westgate says the near-constant crowds have taken a heavy toll on the grounds.
He said: “The tourists seem to think they can get these fantastic photographs from in among the flowers, but they're showing no respect.
Westgate Gardens in Canterbury, Kent, has become a photograph hotspot - but locals say visitors are showing "no respect" and trampling the flowers.
The picturesque gardens are one of the most visited parts of Canterbury - second only to the cathedral in Tripadvisor’s list of the 10 best things to do in the city.
But local Terry Westgate says the near-constant crowds have taken a heavy toll on the grounds.
He said: “The tourists seem to think they can get these fantastic photographs from in among the flowers, but they're showing no respect.
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00:00The area, the other side of these flower borders here, there's a grass area, and they've been
00:10continually walking on that area, which has worn the grass all the way, and it's destroying
00:17the beauty of the area.
00:19They've now started standing in amongst the flower beds, trampling the flowers, and it's
00:26so disrespectful.
00:27I feel quite sad that the gardens are being ruined.
00:31It's mainly the tourists, it's not local vandalism, the tourists seem to think they can get these
00:40fantastic photographs from the flower beds, but in doing so, they're not respecting the
00:46flower beds, and they're standing on, in amongst them now, which is actually causing a real
00:51problem.
00:52I think we need better signage, there's hardly any sign saying keep off the flowers and keep
00:58off the grass, so some better signage all along this railings would be good.
01:11Tourists have been walking on them trying to get good photos, so understandably, having
01:16photos in the foreground and background of the photo looks quite nice, but as a result
01:21they've been stepping over the barrier, walking all over the grass, and in some cases, walking
01:27pathways through the flower beds.
01:30And what's the effect that this has on other people that like to enjoy the park?
01:34I think for locals who live around here and like the site, particularly the houses opposite,
01:40that detracts from the site.
01:44It also has to affect the flowers of bringing those people here in the first place, so it
01:51might be a price that we need to accept, but I do think that if there was a bigger sign
01:56or some more obvious signage down the paths, or maybe even a warden that was put in charge
02:01of the area around here, that this sort of thing could be kept at a minimum.