‘Beach hoggers’ warned against stealing top spots by sea as Spanish resort introduces fines
10 July 2023, 15:37 | Updated: 10 July 2023, 15:41
Brits heading to Spain this summer have been warned against 'reserving' spots on beaches as one holiday destination is introducing fines.
Every summer Brits battle it out in the early mornings as they race to bag the best sunbeds on the beach and in hotels.
But now holidaymakers trying to reserve spots on Spanish beaches risk having their belongings removed and face a hefty fine under a new rule.
The Calpe Council in Alicante has introduced a new rule against beachgoers from putting down chairs, hammocks and umbrellas before 9:30am.
Calpe Beach Councillor Pere Moll said: "We want to guarantee the uninterrupted work of beach cleaning staff and we appeal to the civility of beach users to ensure beaches are not occupied with gear without anyone present."
Those who ignore the order will have their items removed, which will be taken by police and can be retrieved on the condition they pay the subsequent fine.
The new rule was introduced to ward off people trying to hog huge areas of space on beaches, making it tougher for others to find places to lounge.
How much exactly the fines will be remains unknown for now, but it will take effect against those who leave their items unattended.
It comes after the local council of Benidorm recently encouraged locals to remove any belongings that have been left on sunbeds in a bid to ‘reserve’ a spot ahead of time.
Mónica Gómez, a councillor for beaches, told Spanish newspaper Informacion.es: "It's an issue that worries us and we are taking care of it."
The new rule is just the latest instalment in an ongoing series of 'sunbed wars' across a number of holiday destinations.
Some hotels in Spain have imposed strict opening times on pool areas to try and prevent people from rushing to hog the beds first thing in the morning.
A security guard was recently filmed in a hotel in Tenerife removing towels from sunloungers in a move that impressed holidaymakers tired of missing out on the best sunbeds.
Although restricting access to the pool out of hours hasn’t be successful in all hotels, as some guests have started forming a queue of towels on the floor outside the pool area.
"In an effort to control the sunbed madness, the door from the hotel to the pool area was kept locked until 8am," holidaymaker Geoff in Majorca told The Mirror.
"So people were lining their towels up on the floor in a queue order by the door before it opened. I must add this wasn't youngsters, but mostly elderly and middle-aged people."
He continued: "I don't know what time they started, but we were up at 6.30am one morning to grab breakfast before an excursion, and there was already an established towel queue forming at the door. Crazy behaviour!"
