Bourton-on-the-Water is renowned for its picture-perfect scenery, drawing thousands of tourists annually. However, beneath the picturesque facade, some locals claim everyday life has grown progressively challenging — with one particular problem starting as early as 8am.

The Cotswolds village, frequently referred to as the "Venice of the Cotswolds", has witnessed a tourism surge in recent years, leading residents to caution that its infrastructure is buckling under the weight of visitor numbers.

The issues came to light after journalist Sophie Wilkinson travelled to Bourton-on-the-Water for The i Paper and interviewed residents and business owners about the effects overtourism is having on the community.

Among those she encountered was NHS worker Jenny Coaker, who revealed that severe congestion caused by coaches, minibuses and tourists' vehicles is now hampering healthcare professionals attempting to reach vulnerable patients.

She said: "Our nurses have 10 patients to visit a day, but because of the traffic, they're only doing four."

Jenny cautioned that the hold-ups could have grave implications for those dependent on daily care.

She added: "The carers can't get to them to dress their wounds or change their pads. People who need insulin could go into a coma, people who are incontinent are sitting in that, and people on end-of-life care are in agony waiting for painkillers."

Her remarks come as Bourton Residents Voice, a campaign group established last September to address overtourism, continues to press for action. Charlotte Joynes, the organisation's chair, told Sophie that numerous visitors descend on the village first thing in the morning, fully intending to spend the whole day there while contributing very little to local trade.

She said: "The problems that we're having are the families that are coming at 8 o'clock in the morning, bringing deck chairs, picnic tables, their own food and drink, and staying for the whole day. Apart from maybe an ice cream, they're not here to buy."

Fellow residents also painted a less rosy picture of life in one of Britain's most cherished beauty spots.

Sue Roberts, who established a litter-picking group three years ago, showed Sophie photographs of rubbish gathered around the village, including beer cans, food packaging, wrappers and discarded nappies.

Meanwhile, former resident Darryl Jenkins revealed she eventually uprooted herself from the village centre after growing increasingly exasperated by the conduct of certain tourists.

She recalled witnessing "Chinese tourists being photographed on the bridge in their wedding dresses", but said matters deteriorated as some visitors began "p*****g and s******g everywhere. I used to shout at them from my window, but it made no difference".

The fresh spotlight on Bourton-on-the-Water follows new findings from Sykes Holiday Cottages, which revealed the village is among the UK locations gaining traction with domestic holidaymakers.

The analysis placed St Ives in Cornwall as Britain's leading staycation spot, with Bamburgh in Northumberland taking second place, while Bourton-on-the-Water was highlighted as one of the areas experiencing rising appeal.

The research also discovered that 38% of adults intend to take their primary holiday in the UK this year, up from 34% previously, while over half of Gen Z participants said they planned to holiday domestically.