Beach brolly ban row

A battle is brewing in sunny southern Spain -- over beach umbrellas.

Fed up over finding their beaches staked out with umbrellas placed by tourists who show up hours later, the residents of Almunecar took the issue to the city council.

City officials agreed the practice had to end, and earlier this summer passed a ban against leaving beach umbrellas in the morning as placeholders.

They ordered the police to patrol the beaches and seize any umbrella left unattended. Beachgoers can reclaim their umbrellas -- if they're willing to pay a £25 fine.

But tourists revolted against the move. One hotel employee said: "We had a huge protest here.

A group of angry tourists surrounded a police vehicle with parasols inside and blocked the road for a couple of hours."

She said the same happened at nearby Herradura Beach, and that the conflict has been simmering all summer long.

"Most of those who get up early, typically 7:30, to place parasols are city folk from Granada -- the largest city in the region -- and locals here are fed up with having them claim the best spots and then not use them until after lunch."

Police said complaints about beach umbrellas go back several years but only came to a head this summer.

Almunecar -- once a Phoenician settlement called Sexi that dates back to 2000 B.C. -- is a popular holiday destination, especially among young Spaniards from the north.