The National Trust has been accused of ‘desecrating’ a Cornish beauty spot which featured in BBC series Poldark by installing health and safety barriers.
Locals were left furious after the Trust decided to install metal grates and wire fences around several sites on the ‘tin coast’ near St Just in Penwith, West Cornwall.
The barriers were put up amid fears that an increase in tourist numbers, driven by the success of the BBC series, could lead to injuries and accidents.
Locals in Cornwall have reacted with fury after several landmarks along the tin coast, including High Bal mine (pictured), were covered with health and safety barriers
![The National Trust, which manages the site, said the barriers were put up to ensure the safety of visitors. There has been a spike in numbers since BBC series Poldark became popular](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/05/15/4609B4F700000578-5051597-image-a-38_1509895495958.jpg)
The National Trust, which manages the site, said the barriers were put up to ensure the safety of visitors. There has been a spike in numbers since BBC series Poldark became popular
In September emergency services found themselves involved in a six-hour rescue operation after a visitor from Wales fell down a disused mine shaft.
But critics claim the National Trust is ruining the landscape including nearby Levant mines, which has UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
Mary Warren, 70, said: ‘They have no respect for the locals and certainly none for the buildings – it’s health and safety gone mad.
‘Generations have come to no harm, because we are not country bumpkins, as a lot of people think. Anyone with a jot of common sense would know better than explore obvious danger sites.
‘So, because of idiots, the National Trust have violated an historic site. I don’t usually get so angry at things – it’s live and let live.
‘As someone who has lived here all my 70 years, and whose grandfather and great grandfathers, for generations, worked in Levant and Geevor and even Crowns – I’m angry at the mindless vandalism.’
The National Trust has faced a backlash after the installation of pay-and-display parking machines at the site, which prompted a spate of vigilante vandalism.
![High Bal mine has featured in the BBC series, which largely takes place on the Cornish coast](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/05/16/27AC8A3100000578-5051597-High_Bal_mine_has_featured_in_the_BBC_series_which_largely_takes-a-11_1509899416274.jpg)
High Bal mine has featured in the BBC series, which largely takes place on the Cornish coast
![The tin coastline provides much of the backdrop for the series, and has renewed interest among tourists who are now flocking there](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/05/15/04E9F935000003E8-5051597-image-a-41_1509895510879.jpg)
The tin coastline provides much of the backdrop for the series, and has renewed interest among tourists who are now flocking there
The site at Levant is particularly sensitive as it was the scene of one of Cornwall’s worst ever mining disasters, when 31 men lost their lives in 1919.
Large metal grills have been placed across mine shafts and safety fencing has blocked off archways with stunning views of the coastline.
It comes after tourist Andrew Williams, 51, from Penarth in Wales, sparked a rescue operation on September 24 after he tumbled down a mine shaft and suffered hip and leg injuries. He had called for more to be done to protect sightseers.
Regular visitor Ruth Bettie said: ‘I want to see it in its natural state, as close as possible to how it used to be when the mines were operational.
‘I do not want to see some twee ‘chocolate box’ presentation that resembles a Poldark theme park.
‘I think that what the National Trust has done here is vandalism and desecration.
‘I think it’s the nanny state gone mad. It’s an old mining area – there will be mines.’
![In September emergency services had to spend six hours rescuing a Welsh tourist who fell down a mine and hurt himself, leading to calls for the safety measures](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/11/05/15/4609B4A700000578-5051597-image-a-42_1509895534614.jpg)
In September emergency services had to spend six hours rescuing a Welsh tourist who fell down a mine and hurt himself, leading to calls for the safety measures
And regular visitor Jon Woodward hit out at the charity’s ‘sheer insensitivity.’
He said: ‘As someone who first visited the area 45 years ago, my perception is that the NT ‘work’ at Levant has destroyed the special ambience of a truly unique site in a very short timeframe.
‘There is barely a year I don’t walk that stretch at least once – and now it has been ruined for me.
‘The sheer insensitivity of the scheme in putting a Disney-style stamp on the ‘visitor experience’ is quite astonishing.’
A spokesman for The National Trust said: ‘We’re committed to allowing people to safely access Cornwall’s unique mining landscapes that are in the care of the National Trust.
‘We use traditional methods of protection where possible, such as Cornish Hedging, or industrial solutions like wire rope or steel.
‘We take a Risk Assessment based approach to the work we do and try to ensure it is proportionate.
‘The safety works at Levant are unfinished and contractors will be returning to complete them shortly.’