The beautiful UK seaside town where locals don't feel safe waiting for a bus after dark

On a bright summer's afternoon the seafront in Bournemouth is alive with families spilling across the golden sand. Children shriek as they plunge into the waves, deckchairs dot the promenade, and retirees sit with flasks of tea in their colourful beach huts. The picture is postcard-perfect, the seaside dream that has drawn generations of visitors to Dorset's coast.

Yet just a short stroll inland, through the manicured gardens that run into the town centre, the mood shifts. Among the flowerbeds and picnic benches, locals warn of needles left behind in the grass and groups gathering to smoke or shoot up. Here, Bournemouth's darker reputation emerges: a town caught between its genteel image and a longstanding battle with drugs, homelessness and antisocial behaviour.

For some, the decline is rooted in history. In the 1980s and 1990s, Bournemouth became home to a cluster of rehabilitation centres, particularly around Boscombe. Former councillor and engraver Nigel Hedges told the Daily Express that councils from across the country would sometimes go so far as to send addicts here with one-way tickets.

In 2012, officials revealed that Boscombe alone had 60 drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities, one of the highest concentrations in the country. Councils and prisons from across the South West were sending addicts here for treatment, overwhelming the town.

At the time, Bournemouth Borough Council's Sue Bickler admitted the situation was untenable and promised reforms: "We will do all we can to reduce this concentration of services," she said.

Today, just three residential rehabs remain: Providence Project, Allington House and Cornerways. Yet locals say the aftershocks of those years are still felt. "You can't just erase what happened," Mr Hedges said. "The sheer number of addicts who came here left a lasting mark.

"They stay because it's lovely. But then they're reeling around the streets after they fall out of the system."

Mr Hedges, whose family's history in Bournemouth retail stretches back generations, finally shut his engraving shop in Beales last year after 50 years in the town centre. He describes once-thriving streets now marked by rough sleeping and public drug use.

"In my last few years, I kept the shop door locked because I didn't know who was going to come reeling in," he said. "There were afternoons where you'd see a crazed girl with no clothes on, defecating and screaming until the police and ambulances turned up. That's a degree of crisis where you just think. These people shouldn't be out, for their own safety and for others."

The effects are visible on the high street. In the Victorian arcade, where the tiled floor still gleams and shop windows display jewellery and artwork, business owners whisper of losses. One independent shop assistant described how £700 worth of stock had been stolen in a year, blaming drug users.

"Bournemouth has a major drug problem, it's a rehab town," Lawrence Clowery said.

"The council isn't doing enough about it. This place should be about art, culture and creativity. We've got one of the best art universities in the country, but people don't have an outlet, so they turn elsewhere."

Sales assistant Daniel Vaughan Thomas, 23, grew up here and says the change is striking.

"It wasn't as bad when I was younger," he says. "Now you see people shooting up on the green in the gardens, out cold in broad daylight. You get more coming up asking for change, or stealing things from shops."

Opinions among locals are mixed, often divided between pride in Bournemouth's natural assets and fear of its hidden problems.

Walking back from the beach, Bill Boutell and his granddaughter, Lucy Budgen, couldn't have been happier. "It's a wonderful place to live," he said. "We feel alright in our bubble."

Others were more wary. From her beach hut, long-time resident Teresa Harrison described a town she still loved but no longer trusted after dark. "My friend said she wouldn't let her daughter come here alone at night," she explained. "My children are older but I wouldn't let them either."

Further along, Sandra and Rick Barrett had stronger words. Long-time residents, they railed against "failing" public services and expressed anger at hotels being used to house asylum seekers. Rick even praised the controversial vigilantes who recently patrolled Bournemouth's streets in high-vis jackets. "At least someone's doing something," he said.

The town's leaders are divided on both diagnosis and cure.

Long-serving Conservative councillor Duane Farr said Bournemouth remains a lively holiday destination but admits its image has been tarnished.

"You can still see people enjoying themselves on the beach, even when it's overcast," he told me, while pointing at the grey clouds that had floated over the seafront.

"But there's been a lack of vision and pride. You've got visible street drinking, aggressive begging, open drug use and it's been worsened by the concentration of rehab centres. Dealers know where to find vulnerable people."

He argues enforcement has slipped, pointing to the reduction of Community Safety Accredited officers and poor street lighting. "People don't feel safe at night," he said.

"Particularly young women waiting for buses. It doesn't take much to fix: cut back the foliage, get the lights working, make sure safety officers are visible."

But Labour MP Jessica Toale, sees the problems differently. She warned against "rehab town" stereotypes, saying they risk obscuring both the town's successes and the real roots of the issue.

"I was out in the town centre on Sunday, the sun was shining, the market was buzzing, people queuing for fruit and veg," she said. "There are challenges, but there's also regeneration and creativity happening that often gets overlooked."

For Toale, the problems stem less from Bournemouth's rehabilitation past than from a decade of cuts.

"Historically, Bournemouth did have a lot of drug and alcohol support places," she said. "The problem is those services were cut massively over the last 10 years, leaving people without the help they needed. Local groups like Faithworks are doing brilliant work, but they're plugging gaps left by Government cuts."

She argues that tackling drugs requires "joined-up working" between councils, police and community groups, and more accurate reporting.

"There's lots of noise, but not always the data to back it up. The police can only target resources if they can build a picture of where problems are. And residents need to see feedback so they know they're being heard."

Meanwhile, Dorset Police insist they are cracking down, especially on Bournemouth's beach. Local Policing Commander Chief Superintendent Heather Dixey told the Daily Express: "Crime and disorder on Bournemouth beach will absolutely not be tolerated.

"Families with children should feel safe here. We have uniformed and plain-clothed officers on patrol, a vast CCTV network, dispersal powers and the ability to seize alcohol, nitrous oxide and illegal drugs. Our message is very clear - anyone involved in crime or disorder is not welcome."

This is Bournemouth today: a town of contrasts. On one side, golden sands, lively food markets and a thriving student population bring colour and life. On the other, boarded-up shopfronts in Boscombe, petty thefts on the high street and the enduring presence of drug use and homelessness paint a different picture.

The legacy of Boscombe's rehab years still shadows the present. And while police, politicians and community groups insist progress is being made, many residents feel caught between the sunshine and the shadows.