Ilfracombe: Tourist calls 'fishy' Devon town 'complete dump'
The most many of us will do if we dislike a holiday destination is leave a poor travel review and resolve not to go back.
But one man has stepped up his very public war of words on Ilfracombe in north Devon after labelling the town a 'dump' and suggesting anyone who found it picturesque should 'go to Specsavers'.
David Copp, 46, complained after visiting the resort with his two young children, aged seven and eight, saying the smell of dead fish from a working trawler in the harbour created a 'nauseating stench' that upset them and would put off other tourists.
Under attack: One tourist has slammed Ilfracombe, saying that if anyone thought it was picturesque 'they need their eyes tested'
At the time, on August 21, Mr Copp, a former fish and chip shop owner, contacted Ilfracombe harbourmaster Rob Lawson to complain about the smell coming from the Lady Of Lundy trawler, before calling the North Devon Journal.
He said his children had been 'distressed' by the smell and also the sight of dead fish and crabs on the harbourside.
After the story was featured in national newspapers and radio, with locals pointing out that it was a working harbour, Mr Copp, from Brighton, East Sussex, contacted the local newspaper again to complain about how he had been portrayed.
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He told the paper: 'A lot of the comments that have been made are pretty unsympathetic, saying that Ilfracombe is a working harbour, but it is not much of a harbour, I think it is a complete joke.
'Compare it to somewhere like Brixham [in south Devon] - you wouldn't get fish lying around for hours on end there.'
He also criticised one paper for describing Ilfracombe as 'picturesque'.
'If they call that picturesque, they need their eyes tested. It is a complete dump. The high street and top of the town is a complete dump. I suggest they go to Specsavers,' he said.
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