'Partying tourists have ruined my Lake District town - I'm being forced to move'

A lifelong resident has sounded the alarm over the Lake District being swamped by disrespectful tourists who treat the beloved natural area as nothing more than a party venue.

Lake Windermere's shores have long been acquainted with tourism, but in recent times, the surge of visitors is causing irreversible damage to the local community.

Local resident Keysia Mattocks has grown up surrounded by the stunning scenery that the Lake District is so famous for. Now, however, she faces the distressing possibility of being priced out of her own home town by a tourism-fuelled housing crisis.

Mattocks said: "Me and my wife have been renting [our] house for seven years now, [but] the landlord is selling up and trying to find a house around here that will accept three cats is impossible," she explained to the Express. "The places available are like six-month winter lets because they are holiday cottages in the summertime or peak time."

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She continued: "We were looking at [these properties] in desperation, but others were viewing it after us so it must be getting interest. You can't build a home from that, though."

Throughout her period of living there, Mattocks has witnessed the dwindling availability of rental properties in Windermere, acknowledging the harsh reality that if they were forced to leave, remaining in the vicinity would be an extremely challenging feat.

"It's always been in the background," she added. "We have heard stories of landlords selling houses underneath people and not really letting their tenants know. But [the shortage of housing] is a scary fact of life. The nearest available council