Holiday warning for stag and hen parties as UK city gets flooded with more drunken tourists than BUDAPEST
HEN dos cramming into the centre of one UK city have been warned to calm down by beleaguered locals.
Groups of rowdy women have turned the historic walled city of York into a “no-go zone” where streets “reek of vomit”, they claim.
York will host twice as many hen and stag dos as the Hungarian capital Budapest this year.
That’s according to Last Night of Freedom, a company which helps organise stag and hen dos.
The company believes the parties could add £10million to the city’s coffers this year.
HEN DOS RUIN THE CITY’S CHARM
But those living nearby complain that constant noise, litter, and general debauchery from would-be brides and their entourage ruins the city’s charm.
York – famous for its iconic Minster, Roman city walls and cobbled streets – has become one of the UK’s most popular hen party destinations.
Pam Flockheart, 56, slammed the “constant foghorn of noise” and said it’s “absolutely vile” because “there’s just sick everywhere”.
She added: “There are hen parties drinking all day. They’re p****d by midday – so by the evening it’s just chaos.
“Lots of them are half-cut by the time they roll off the train at 10am.
“My brother is a bus driver – at the weekend he has to have his wits about him because they’re falling into the road. He’s had women fighting against the side of his bus.
“People say it’s bringing money into the city – but it’s bringing a lot of trouble as well.”
She said locals know to be in and out of the city centre by midday to avoid “getting caught up in it”.
“There are people bringing their families into the city for a day out and they are witnessing people fighting, shouting and stumbling over.
“It’s such a shame. York used to be such a great place for families but I wouldn’t dream of bringing children here at the weekend.”
‘WE NEED A STAG ZONE’
York MP Rachael Maskell told how stag and hen parties have brought “devastation” to the city.
She has called for a stag and hen “zone” out of sight of residents.
She said in August: “The night time economy is running out of control, with York being marked out as the UK’s capital of hen parties.
“We need to put it to a stop, place the needs of residents first and return our city to the people of York.”
Nick Roberts, 50, who sells crystals and fossils from a market stall in the historic Shambles market, said: “The problem used to be the stag parties but now it’s mainly drunk women.
“They fall off the train p****d and they just carry on, going from bar to bar.
“My brother’s got a young lad – he won’t come to the city centre at the weekend because he gets intimidated by how loud it is.
“It used to be confined to the night-time but it starts from 12pm onwards.”
‘IT’S GETTING WORSE’
York city council issued a handbook for stag and hen dos in a bid to encourage better behaviour.
The guide lists where public loos can be found and stresses the importance of being respectful to other visitors.
But Phoebe Stone, 22, said some parties ignore the advice.
She said: “It’s getting worse and worse, if anything. You can come into the city centre at 11am and see groups of drunk women.
“If you’re shopping you need to be done by lunchtime, or you’ve got no chance.
“Honestly, it’s chaos at the weekends.”
IT worker James Standish, 50, added: “It’s just a steady stream of screaming and drinking – on Micklegate, where lots of the bars are, it’s a no-go zone.
“They don’t seem to care that they’re ruining everyone else’s experience of the city.
“We love having visitors to York.
“But not when they’re causing chaos and disruption.”
Les Brewer, 76, who moved from York to Elland, near Halifax, in West Yorkshire, said: “I’m sure it brings lots of money and the bar owners are happy.
“But there’s lots of rowdiness and intimidating behaviour – it’s the shock factor, because you don’t expect to see it here.
“It’s a shame because York is a lovely place. There needs to be more of a balance struck – because it’s not fair on the families who live and work here.”
