SEASIDE BOSSES FEAR VISIT BY CHILD ABUSER
Gareth Watkinson is planning a two-week stay in Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, from Saturday after a Bradford Crown Court judge gave him special permission for the trip.Watkinson, 22, pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court on Friday, June 15, to indecently assaulting a boy under 14 in February this year and is due to be sentenced on July 26.
But he has been forced out of his home after vigilante attacks and is now living in temporary accommodation at an undisclosed address.
His trip to Mablethorpe provoked a furore from parents living near Watkinson and authorities in the seaside town are concerned about its impact.
A spokesman for East Lindsey District Council, which covers Mablethorpe, said: "Mablethorpe is a popular family resort with a friendly welcome and safe environment.
It would be inappropriate for us to comment on individuals but we would not support anything or anyone that had an adverse effect on the resort's family atmosphere." The holiday destination receives about two million visitors a year and is next to the better-known resort of Skegness.
It has about five holiday camps and many more caravan parks.
The Council spokesman added: "We welcome all people to Mablethorpe and do not want to do anything that would jeopardise that or affect our image.
It is a conflict, we are a family resort and are promoted as a safe environment." It is not yet known which camp Watkinson will visit, but a spokesman for the Golden Sands site, run by Haven, stated he would not be welcomed.
"Like everyone else, we share the abhorrence for people involved in molesting or abusing children.
Such a person would not be welcome at Golden Sands.
We have had many years of creating sites with a family atmosphere and that is what we want to continue." Parents living near Watkinson in Denholme are organizing a petition calling for his eviction from the estate and a protest march.
Lesley Windle, a mother, said: "We have got about 500 signatures so far and still plan to get more to present to the police.
It's an absolute disgrace that he has been allowed to go on this holiday.
What about all those parents and children who will be in Mablethorpe but won't have a clue who he is?"
