Residents of British tourist hotspots such as Brighton and Salcombe have said that a government crackdown on Airbnb short-term lets will do nothing to stop locals leaving.

Locals in the tourist hotspot of Salcombe, which was last week named the most expensive seaside town with an average sale price of £1.2million, did not believe a change in the law which means Airbnb owners will need planning permission before renting out their homes would make much difference to the local economy.

Stephen Holt, 70, who works as an estuary guide in Salcombe, said: 'A lot of locals have chosen to move out and sell their homes to people who let them out on Airbnb as a business but it's been going on for longer than they've been around.

'I don't blame people for selling their homes when they are being offered huge amounts of money but it's changed the character of the town because people in their 20s can't afford to live here anymore.

'Of course we want people here for tourism but you need people to work in the pubs and the shops and at the moment they can't live here and they can't easily drive in and park.'

Mr Holt added: 'The thing with Airbnb is people let out their spare rooms which means more people coming into the town creating issues with parking.

'I think Airbnb has an unfair advantage over local holiday lets because they don't seem to have the same rules and regulations so this legislation might help level the field a bit.

'But I don't know if a bureaucratic solution is the right one, people always find a way around bureaucracy, particularly where money is involved.'

Kevin Pott, 62, who has run Salcombe Deli for 10 years said tourism is vital to the local economy but believes people will come whether they use Airbnb or not.

He said: 'No tourists would not be good news for us but I don't think that will happen. House prices are crazy but they are not going to go back.

'It's not going to cause a massive change for us. Even if it caused property prices to drop 10% that still wouldn't make homes affordable.

'I think we're trying to address the wrong problem with this legislation, we need to be building more affordable housing that is ringfenced for local people. That has to be realistically affordable for local people.'

Tourists David Malahoty, 37, and Sarah Bee, 36, from Edinburgh, were staying in an Airbnb while visiting Salcombe for the weekend with friends.