Sunbed ‘civil war’ breaks out across Med as sun-starved Brits battle each other for best spots from 5am

CIVIL war is breaking out across the Med as sunstarved Brits battle each other for the best spots by pools and beaches. British tourists in popular destinations such as Spain, the Balearic Islands and Turkey are going to extreme measures to bag the best sun loungers. AlamyBrits are battling each other for the best spots by pools and beaches, pictured above tourists in Gran Canaria[/caption] SolarpixThe early bird catches the worm in Benidorm and bags the best spot on the beach[/caption] Tourists in Tenerife raid stacked-up sun loungers early in the morningSWNS They include queuing from 5.30am to wait for pool areas to open hours later, and heading to beaches at the crack of dawn to reserve areas with towels. Sun readers have even caught fellow countrymen and women claiming sun loungers at 11.30pm the night before to ensure they have a prime location to catch some rays. Care worker Jo Hillyard, 48, described her trip to Turkey as the “worst holiday we have been on” because of inconsiderate Brits. Pictures taken at her hotel in Oludeniz show rows of sunbeds near the pool with towels on to reserve them — before midnight. By 3.30pm the next day, all the loungers were claimed with towels — but only half were being used.  Jo spent nine days at the family-friendly Katre Hotel in the resort but was unable to get sunbeds near the pool for any of her stay. Instead she was forced to spend £20 each day on sunbeds on the nearby beach with husband Simon, 50, and sons Callum, 20, and JJ, 14 because of the sun lounger hoggers. Jo said: “It’s shocking. The only time you can get a bed is if you’re lucky enough when someone goes home. “It’s the worst hotel I have been to by far. It’s British and Turkish tourists here but it is mainly the British who are hogging all the beds. “People put their towels out by 11.30pm for the following day. For our entire holiday we have not been able to get a bed near the pool like my children want.” HAVE you spotted any inconsiderate sunbed hoggers while on holiday this year? Get in touch on WhatsApp on 07423 720250 or email exclusive@the-sun.co.uk When contacted by The Sun, the hotel said they had put up a notice asking guests not to place towels on the beds. But even fleet-footed former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor, 36, admitted he had raced down early in the morning to bag the best beds. Agbonlahor, who was on holiday on the Spanish island of Majorca last week, said: “I’m guilty, I’ve done it. “I did it last week, I went down early doors. I was down at 7am, two towels down, baseball cap down, suntan cream bag down. “You have to, otherwise you won’t get a seat. If everyone else is doing it, you’ve got to do it.” In the Costa del Sol resort of Torremolinos, Brits have been filmed running to grab sunbeds when the gates to the pool area were opened. And in Tenerife, dad-of-two Matthew Vine, 46, was stunned when he spotted sunseekers claiming beds at 6.30am — three and a half hours before the pool opened. Some were seen dragging beds from where they had been chained up to reserve their perfect spot. Matthew, from Wetherby, West Yorks, said it was a daily occurrence on his family’s two-week break. He added: “I think they see one do it and panic sets in — suddenly they’re all doing it.” A representative from Matthew’s hotel, the Globales Suneo Tamaimo Tropical in Puerto De Santiago, said: “It is forbidden to reserve sunbeds in all our hotels. “It is verbally indicated to guests when checking in, and in the sunbathing areas it is also indicated with signs. “We are doing our best, including chaining sunbeds so that people do not come to book sunbeds at unseemly hours despite the fact that we have enough sunbeds. “This is not a problem unique to our hotel, but is repeated in many hotels. “We are looking for solutions to this problem that do not cause even bigger problems, although all this would not be necessary if people took heed of our indications.” Long queues form in Costa Del Sol’s Benalmadena as holidaymakers join rush to secure the best spots Tourists in Oludeniz put down towels on sun loungers at 11.30 the night before tiktok/@lsalamanDesperate travellers in Ayia Napa clamber over the pool gate in ‘holding pen’[/caption]