Who watched the last series of ITV's "Benidorm" where two of the characters were arrested by the local police for "frolicing" on the beach ? Well I certainly laughed at the far fetched scene as I imagined most other viewers did ... Benidorm is certainly not Dubai!!!! How wrong can you be ...... then following a post on twitter I decided to investigate the matter. I went up to the Ajuntament (Town Hall) in Benidorm where the gentleman printed off a 35 page booklet (in Spanish obviously) for me on the By-Laws for the beach and streets of Benidorm - a lovely bedtime read I thought!!!!
"Infringement & Offences" of the by-laws are divided into 3 catagories: Minor - with a max fine of 750€, Serious - max fine 1500€ and Very Serious carrying a max fine of 3000€ !
Some of the infringements include playing games with balls or other equipment outside of designated areas that is disturbing other beachgoers; Using bath products such as soap/gel in sea or showers on beach; Playing loud music that is disturbing others; Urinating in sea or on public road; Swimming when the red flag is flying; Lighting a bbq on the beach; Fishing; Leaving glass or toxic material on the beach; Drinking alcohol on the beach; Sex on the beach. In addition the beaches are out of bounds between midnight and 7am to allow for cleaning ... and keep "courting couples" away no doubt.
