SUNBED wars have been taken to a new level as grown men have been spotted clambering over fences in a bid to snag a lounger.
A hotel in Spain‘s Costa del Sol has been forced to hire a bouncer to get rowdy tourists under control as they battle for prime spots.
Darren FletcherThe hotel has hired a bouncer to keep the early morning sunbed wars under control[/caption]
Darren FletcherTourists at the hotel battle over loungers in prime locations by the pool[/caption]
Sunset Beach Club hotel in Benalmádena on the Costa Del Sol is one of the worst battlegrounds for spats over sunbeds.
Stunned holidaymakers staying at the four-star venue say some adults “behave like kids” in a mad dash first thing in the morning.
“Some people wear trainers so they can run faster,” one tourist from Scotland told Olive Press.
Hundreds of Brits are forced to queue from the early hours if they want to be in with a chance of a lounger.
Katherine Green, from Yorkshire, said some impatient blokes even leap over barriers to get to the loungers quicker.
The 35-year-old told the outlet: “There is a queue of over 100 people waiting to access the pool in the morning.
“And at 9am, when the gate opens, some people don’t use the gate and just jump over the fence.
“We need to get down shortly after 8am to guarantee a spot as there are not enough pool chairs and people start pushing as well as running and jumping over the sunbeds.”
It comes after The Sun joined the early morning towel brigade as they started to queue at the Sunset Beach Club hotel.
The gate to the pool area at the four-star hotel is locked overnight and only opened at around 9am.
By 8am there were 22 people waiting patiently by the main entrance and another 12 at a side gate armed with brightly coloured towels and beach bags.
Half an hour later there were 47 tourists eager to get to the beds, with more joining every minute.
By the time the bouncer in a bright blue top with SEGURIDAD across the back arrived to unlock the gates at 8.40am there were more than 100 people waiting in the queue which snaked back into the hotel and past the gift shop.
Speaking about when the gate finally opens, Wendy, 44, told The Sun: “I’ve seen people running and jumping over the beds.
“Earlier in the week someone dropped their phone on the way to their sunbed during the rush and decided to leave it behind and carry on running, deciding the bed was more valuable.
“You can’t hesitate. You need to know exactly where you are going because that second of doubt could cost you your bed.
“The towels are being chucked so quickly. The security guard has to come down now because I have seen it get so heated.
“I’ve seen a fair few fights when people try to claim beds first or they push in the queue.”
Wendy and her family then take shifts to guard the beds during the day to ensure no one else tries to claim their spot in front of the pool.
By 9am all the beds were covered with beach towels but no sunbathers were in sight.
The hotel has a policy that if the beds are unoccupied by 10am then security can take their towels but the guests The Sun spoke to told us it was rarely enforced.
Benalmádena and neighbouring Torremolinos near Malaga have become hotspots for sunbed wars this summer as more Brits jet off for some sunshine on the Costa Del Sol.
Brits have been pictured taking chairs out at the crack of dawn at the Hotel Estival Torrequebrada.
Darren FletcherBy 9am all the beds were covered with beach towels but no sunbathers were in sight[/caption]