Beach war in Benidorm: 'If the British want the front line spots, they should get up early'

Spanish holidaymakers are unhappy after they were accused of hogging front line beach spots in Benidorm. At 6am it is common for many of the coveted spots to already be taken on Levante beach in the Alicante resort.

"I get up at 5.40am," said Poli González, a pensioner from Ciudad Real. "I come once a year in July and I like to have my front row," he said.

"Everyone lives their own holidays," said Francisco Pérez. "I've been a farmer all my life and it's not hard for me to get up early. I come here, put my chair down, take a walk and then go and have breakfast with my wife".

In the last few days, Benidorm's Levante beach has been in the spotlight after a report in the British Daily Mail newspaper, headlined "Hilarious moment when Benidorm locals are caught setting up their sunbeds in the middle of the night to beat the crowds of British tourists".

Pedro Medina, originally from Vitoria, said. "We have been called racists and xenophobes. I've been here for 30 years and I get up early to get my first line, if they [the British] want it they should get up early and not party and make a fuss like they do," he added.

Benidorm's councillor for beaches and the environment, Mónica Gómez, said: "Traditionally there are people who get up very early in the morning to secure a spot on the front line of the beach closest to the coast and stay there all morning enjoying the sea.”

However, Gómez highlighted the problem of "people who take their belongings out at this time in the morning and go home, and that is something that is not allowed".

The municipal regulations prohibit the leaving of belongings in public, an offence which can be enforced by the Local Police with the power to remove personal objects and impose a fine of up to 750 euros.

"If the police come and they are picking up the umbrella, you move away and leave, so you don't pay the fine," one Spanish early riser said with a laugh.