Newquay establishments have appeared on a television programme which highlighted what life is like in Cornwall for the locals after the summer crowds have gone.

DISC Newquay, the Sandy Lodge Hotel and the Headland Hotel featured in Simon Reeve’s Return to Cornwall on BBC2.

The documentary looked at why Cornwall is an iconic holiday destination but also one of the poorest counties in England.

Pete Butterly, the owner of the Sandy Lodge, told how he had been forced to shut most of the hotel and lay off staff after his electricity bill soared from £30,000 to £170,000.

Pete, who has been running the hotel for 35 years, said: “We have been through depressions but nothing like this.”

He showed how a number of the hotel rooms were being rented by Cornwall Council to provide homeless families with emergency accommodation following the rising number of evictions during the housing crisis.

Simon met Kim, her partner and three young children who were made homeless after their landlord decided to sell the home they were renting in St Dennis. Kim said: “I was born down here. All my babies were born in Treliske. It’s horrible. I have always wanted to bring my kids up down here because I have always loved the way of life but now I kind of hate it because it’s not the same.  

“We feel like we are failing our kids when the system is failing us.”

Simon met Monique Collins, the manager of Newquay DISC, which uses part of the Sandy Lodge Hotel. The charity had more than 3,000 people in the community on its books to help with food, electricity top-ups, clothing, school dinners and housing.

Monique said: “We have seen a 90 per cent increase in demand for our services. Many people who need help are in work but are no longer able to cope, with the wages they receive, because everything has gone up.” 

Simon visited the Headland Hotel as tourism and the hospitality industry is the biggest employer in Cornwall. 

He explored how the hotel has changed how it hires workers post-Brexit, explaining how it stepped up efforts to recruit locally and adapted jobs and training.