• 100 brollies and sunloungers/chairs removed

Almost 100 umbrellas and sunloungers/chairs were removed from the beach by the City Council of the Castellón town of Oropesa del Mar, complying with its beach ordinance.

Action was taken in late July as the summer holidays got into full-swing in Spain, with thousands of people heading for the beaches.

Oropesa del Mar has taken steps to remove items left by people who head down to the beach, as early as 5am, in a bid to ‘reserve’ sections of beach with umbrellas and chairs, before returning hours later.

Town hall workers, under police guidance, are removing items to allow free access.

Offenders have to pay a fine of €300 to get their beach brollies and sunloungers back, with repeat offenders fined €750.

Torrevieja were the first council to make it an offence, as reported by The Leader, with an initial €150 fine issued, increasing on a sliding-scale up to €750 for second offences.

Fines up to €750 are imposed on a plethora of Valencian beaches, in an attempt to halt the summer ‘umbrella war’.

Oropesa, Torrevieja and Cullera are councils that have placed sanctions against the abandonment of umbrellas and beach chairs on their beaches to reserve a place in the early morning.

It is forbidden to reserve a beach reservation place before 9am.

Caption: Workers and police remove objects from Oropesa beach. Photo: Oropesa City Council.