A married couple has been criticized and shamed for causing significant damage to a campsite's security barrier to leave the site at 2 a.m. The incident occurred at the family-run High Penderleath campsite in St. Ives, Cornwall, when the couple attempted to lift the electronic barricade, which had been closed for security reasons.
CCTV footage captured the couple spending over an hour trying to force open the barrier. In the video, a woman can be heard saying, "we can't break the barrier because me and my husband have physically tried breaking the barrier." She also stated, "we don't care about criminal damage," before striking the security camera with her hand. After more than 90 minutes of effort, they managed to raise the barrier high enough for their Volkswagen to pass underneath.
Upon successfully exiting, the woman approached the camera again, saying, "I hope your barrier never works again, you k*******s," as the song "What A Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers played over the footage.
The couple reportedly returned to the campsite and stayed for another night before being instructed to leave by midday on August 11, cutting their week-long stay short. The campsite owners stated that the couple would receive a substantial bill for the "extensive – and very expensive – damage" caused, estimated at £4,600.
Timestamps indicate the couple's attempts to exit the site on August 10 lasted from 12:15 a.m. to 1:53 a.m. The campsite has a strict policy prohibiting campers from leaving after 11:30 p.m. unless it is an emergency.
The owners explained that the couple's reason for leaving was to collect their children from the Boardmasters music festival in Newquay, which featured headliners such as Fatboy Slim, Lily Allen, and Kasabian. The owners noted that if the couple had communicated their need to leave beforehand, an alternative arrangement could have been made. "This was not an emergency, and the situation was apparently made very clear at the time, including during contact with the police," the owners stated.
In a social media post, the campsite owners expressed their frustration, writing, "We now have the pleasure of dealing with extensive — and very expensive — damage to our barrier as a result." They added that they are "perfectly reasonable people" but found the decision to disregard security restrictions unreasonable, leaving them with a significant repair bill. "The damage was entirely avoidable."
An electrician has since been working to temporarily fix the barrier to secure the site. Devon and Cornwall Police have been contacted for comment.