Spain opens up new frontline in the sunbed wars with £650 fines for beach hoggers
THE battle for sunbeds may have caused plenty of drama across Europe this summer but now the parasol wars are set to add fuel to the fire.
British tourists have endured months of carnage across the continent as they battle each other for poolside loungers whilst on holiday.
Some of Europe’s top destinations have seen swarms of holidaymakers behave like animals in order to stand a chance of claiming the best spots by hotel pools.
But now a host of Mediterranean hotspots are ready to take action in order to stop tourists from replicating similar behaviour on their beaches.
In this instance, it involves planting a parasol in the sand in order to reserve a space or bed at the beach.
As a result, many visitors are denied room to relax.
To battle this issue, these hoggers will now receive hefty fines, with some reaching up to £650 in Spain according to ABC.
The Spanish outlet reported that local authorities will sanction the fine if people “leave parasols in order to have reserved a place on the beach”.
That came after the Valencian town of Cullera started a campaign on social media with the motto “don’t leave her alone”.
This was to raise awareness among residents and tourists about the prohibition of planting the umbrella on the beach first thing in the morning to reserve a place.
If someone was to re-offend three times within five years, they could be charged €1,500 (£1,280).
A beach sweep now takes place between 8:30-9am every day, with any possessions collected taken to the local police station.
This also happens on the shores of Almunecar, an area on the coast of Granada, in which a series of inspections now take place.
It has also been highlighted that places across Europe are not only charging for the use of sun loungers, but making it compulsory to eat there too.
This was revealed by Spanish economist Santiago Nio Becerra, who has called attention to the common problem.
He references the Italian town of Sorrento, along the southwestern shore of the Amalfi Coast as one of the places.
He said in a tweet: “You have to pay 20 euros a day for a sun lounger on the beach and it is compulsory to eat at the bar-restaurant.”
And other social media users also let him know of their similar experiences.
“In Ibiza I paid 25 euros for two loungers for four hours 4 years ago ,” said one woman.
Another user added that a deckchair in Sitges “is already worth 20 euros”.
Elsewhere in Italy, it was reported that authorities in Livorno previously seized 30 umbrellas from a Tuscany beach (La Repubblica).
They then charged people £170 to reclaim their possessions.
But some beachgoers remain so desperate to secure a place on the beach that they began setting up in the middle of the night.
This happened in Benidorm, when a number of locals were filmed making their way to the beach with deckchairs in hand.
In other cases, parents are using their children to score them empty sun beds.
With pool areas very quickly swamped, mum’s and dad’s are banking on their little one’s to reach the finish line before anyone else.