Furious residents of a picturesque village have claimed their privacy is being ‘invaded by drones’ and the community ruined by the rise of Airbnbs.
Castle Combe in the Cotswolds has been dubbed ‘one of the most beautiful locations in the UK’ and it boats scenic walking routes and quaint old streets untouched by time.
It is popular with tourists and has featured in blockbuster films such as Steven Spielberg’s War Horse.
Thousands of holidaymakers flock to the popular tourist destination every year, but this has left residents instructing many of them to get off their land.
Locals say the number of people who live in the village full-time has fallen since lockdown, with houses that go up for sale being snapped up and used as second homes or Airbnbs.
They also allege tourists have been invading their privacy by flying drones over homes in the village despite ‘signs up and down’ the area forbidding the practice.
Georgina Kingshott, 44, a post-doctoral scientist, has lived in Castle Combe since 2016 after escaping London for a quieter life.
But she has claimed that living in the village is now ‘terrible’ due to the influx of tourists who ‘will pitch up at one of the benches and be here all day’.
‘It is terrible because during lockdown it was great,’ Ms Kingshott said, adding: ‘In the hotter months people pitch up like it is the beach which can be a bit annoying.
‘There are coaches that come and do guided tours of the Cotswolds so we will have those pitch up a few times a day.
Ms Kingshott also complained that tourists invade her privacy by flying their drones across the village.
‘It feels very intrusive. They are not supposed to do that and there are signs up and down,’ she said.
‘You will wander into the garden and hear the sound of a drone and think “what is going on?”‘
She said she is lucky to have a gate that stops people from coming into her property, but says ‘sometimes people will pretend not to see it and sit on this side of the fence which they are not meant to’.
‘I always feel a bit like “get off my land”. It can be intrusive with people running up and down,’ she added.
Anna Roberts, 60, has lived in the village for 20 years and runs a pop-up tearoom.
While she welcomes tourists as they boost trade, she has claimed that recently the village has lost its community feel.
When she first moved to Castle Combe, she said around 95 per cent of the village was filled with residents and now she claims it is less than 50 per cent.
Ms Roberts said: ‘There has been a lot of changes in the village over the years.
‘As houses go up for sale we are finding very few people who want to move in and live here.
‘We have people who buy from abroad – they buy them as holiday homes, second homes and Airbnbs.’
