Our idyllic seaside town was a retiree’s paradise… now it’s overrun by zombie addicts – even grans are peddling drugs
ONCE the promised land for retired Brits, Eastbourne has now become overrun with zombie addicts and gutless drug peddlers.
The quaint seaside town – famed for its gold-plated pier and vast shingle beaches – is the latest area to be ravaged by the scourge of county lines thugs plaguing the UK.
Just last month cops put away three kingpins for 17 years who pushed crack cocaine and heroin into East Sussex for more than a decade.
But the long-lasting supply of drugs has fuelled a crime frenzy just a stone’s throw from its idyllic beachfront.
Official figures show the crime rate in Eastbourne is two per cent higher than the national average.
It also placed in the top 10 most dangerous areas out of the 108 villages that make up the region.
Tommy Powell, a local barman, is still in and out of hospital after falling victim to a horror attack while at work.
In November 2022, he escorted a customer out of Blue Bar Cafe, who later returned and threw a toxic “acid” substance in his face.
It caused Tommy’s face to severely blister and left him with stem cell damage.
Undeterred by the incident, he told The Sun the community of Eastbourne has suffered from a spate of escalated violence.
Tommy said: “I have lived here all my life but crime and drug addiction have got progressively worse in the last few years.”
Carnage ‘unbearable’ for locals
Our shocking pictures show families trying to savour the last days of summer as down-and-outers block the entrances to beach huts on the seafront.
A few blocks back on Seaside Road, a group of heroin junkies linger outside a derelict home with smashed out windows.
On the same notorious stretch, a couple of men sip booze on the street early in the morning while a woman lies passed out in a flower bed.
Patty, a middle-aged woman who has lived in Eastbourne since 1975 and did not wish to be pictured, told The Sun these scenes are becoming commonplace.
“This was a beautiful place once. It was advertised as a perfect place to retire,” she sighed.
“But now there are so many venues boarded up, derelict houses and litter everywhere.
“You’ve got to keep your eyes open too because there has been more and more violence on the street.”
According to the Office for National Statistics there were 9,145 reported crime incidents by July 2022. Those figures were up by 738 on the previous year – with more than a third involving violence.
Eastbourne has also seen a rise in knife crime this year.
In one weekend in August, local cops conducted 13 street searches and three vehicle stops – in which they seized a firearm, knuckledusters, 15 blades and made nine arrests.
‘Even grans peddle drugs’
Sussex Police Detective Chief Superintendent Till Sanderson specialises in dismantling major drug networks in his district.
He told The Sun coastal towns are disproportionately affected by county lines.
“Eastbourne is a very lovely and safe town,” Sanderson said. “However, being of reasonable size with more than 100,000 residents, it does have a drug underside.
“In the last 20 years, local drug supply has changed and it has definitely increased.”
The main drugs prevalent in the area include cannabis, powdered cocaine, crack and heroin.
Eastbourne has also been particularly vulnerable to “cuckooing”, cops claimed.
People usually profile these dealers as teenagers but County Lines can involve a range of people… we’ve even seen grandmas selling drugs
Detective Chief Superintendent Till Sanderson
The term refers to when gangs take over the property of a vulnerable person and use it as a place to run their business.
The out-of-town drug lords usually prey on residents who suffer from substance abuse, mental health issues, learning disabilities or loneliness.
They befriend the tenant and then promise them drugs or cash in exchange for being able to use their property.
Sanderson said: “People usually profile these dealers as teenagers but County Lines can involve a range of people… we’ve even seen grandmas selling drugs.
“It has taken a myriad of enforcement tactics to tackle these criminals, including high-visibility, plane clothes patrols, phone analysis, closure orders and more.
“We have had a decade of good success but there are always challenges because criminals are not idiots and they will always be looking for a way in.
“But we are currently providing a better structure than we have ever before and are much more in tune with reducing drug harm.”