Spanish Town Fining Beach Hogs
Watch where you leave that towel. (Photo: Thinkstock)
One Spanish town is trying to put an end to beach-goers squatting on prime coastal real estate.
Police in Torrox, a resort town on the Costa del Sol in the Andalusian area of Southern Spain are now confiscating property — towels and beach bags — left to claim a spot on the beach. Owners of the property can get it back by paying a fee of 30 euros.
A local council spokesman said: “We don’t want to start naming the country whose tourists are most guilty of this beach land-grabbing, but I think we can all guess who they are.”
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“It is infuriating to arrive at the beach and find all the space taken by towels and umbrellas, but hardly any people,” explained the spokesman. “Our new policy seems to be having the desired effect, and as a result there is less wasted space on the beach and more room for everyone.”
The town is also launching an information campaign to try to make the beach more enjoyable for everyone. It plans to distribute 5,000 pamphlets to beach visitors this summer.
The pamphlets describe all of the beach rules and regulations, including the beach squatting measure.
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