Mankini ban reduces bad behaviour in Newquay

Police in Newquay have said a decision to ban mankinis, fake penises and other "inappropriate clothing" from the Cornish resort has helped to significantly reduce anti-social behaviour and recorded crime.

Officers said the town was shedding its reputation as a haven for drunken revellers and stag parties as a result of the zero-tolerance approach to risque fancy dress. Some visitors to Newquay, including children as young as 15, have been sent home as a result of anti-social behaviour, while older fun-seekers have had skimpy costumes seized by police – including mankinis.


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In an interview marking the end of the summer season, Devon and Cornwall police superintendent, Julie Whitmarsh, said the town had come a long way in the last three years thanks to concerted efforts to help clean up its reputation. "We have had this consistency of seizing inappropriate items of clothing, sending people home to get changed, and that has worked, it has made a real difference, this 'no-nonsense attitude'," Whitmarsh said.

"Mankini is what we term 'offensive clothing', so we won't accept people wearing them. They are just hideous. Is it just me, but if you were living in Bath, for example, or Bournemouth, is that something you would wear to walk into town on a Saturday afternoon? No. They are just revolting, there is nothing pleasant about seeing anybody in a mankini. We have had a real crackdown on the fake penises. And people are getting that message. You look at the images you see of Newquay now, 2009 is three years ago and we are in a very different place."