A Budleigh Salterton couple have been left with a clean-up job after mindless vandals are thought to have barged into their beach hut – knocking off glass and kitchenware from shelves.
Marilyn and Stewart Jackson first found a cafetiere smashed on the floor of their hut, close to the seafront toilet blocks, on Saturday (April 13) – but didn’t piece together that it could have done on purpose.
Instead, they cleared up the mess and replaced the cafetiere before going on their way.
However, when the couple returned to their hut yesterday, they found the new cafetiere – along with glasses, mugs and tea and coffee, smashed on its wooden floor.
Mrs Jackson, who purchased the beach hut last year, said: “It must have had a big bang on its back for things to move off the shelves.
“Stewart banged the back of the hut and things moved.”
Mrs Jackson believes the incident was caused by a group of local youths, who were encouraged to barge into the hut again after hearing the cafeteria smash in the first incident.
“Another lady told me she had noticed items have moved off their shelves,” she added.
“I have not had a chance to speak to anyone else about it, but I would suggest they don’t put up shelves at the back of their beach huts.
“At the moment, we are not putting anything on the shelves. I don’t see what we can do.
“If we put a notice up on the hut, they will probably look at that as an invitation.”
Mrs Jackson hasn’t reported the incident to the police, as she believes they wouldn’t be able to do anything.
She is now urging other beach hut owners to remain vigilant and keep an eye out for any untoward behaviour towards the units.
She said: “Whoever has started doing this could be local and walking up and down the seafront regularly.
“We are considering moving the shelves to the side of the hut, with rubber non-slip maps on them.”
The couple, who have lived in Budleigh for more than 30 years, have ruled out the weather as the cause of the damage, as their former hut was more rickety than their current one.
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