If there’s one thing Brits hate about a holiday it’s having to hunt down a sunbed when all the best have been reserved with towels at the crack of dawn – but one mum found a way around it
A British holidaymaker has been caught on camera shamelessly stealing towels from sunbed hoggers who were reserving loungers in early morning hours.
Samantha Cooper was enjoying a two-week sunshine break with her family when she became fed up with the daily scramble to find a spot by the pool. Despite the hotel’s strict rule banning towels being put down before 9am, the mum says every morning was a struggle to bag a lounger – and it wasn’t long before she discovered why. From their balcony, the 40-year-old spotted the culprits sneaking down at 1.30am to claim beds they wouldn’t use until well into the following afternoon.
By day five, the Manchester mum had seen enough. She strode to the pool and stripped the towels, freeing the beds up for swimmers and sunbathers who would actually use them.
“To be fair, they deserved it,” her 25-year-old daughter Ellie Ikin told What’s The Jam. “They were never down there until at least 3pm.
“Every morning was a struggle. The hotel said they had rules of no one putting towels down until 9am but no one listened.
“My mum noticed they were putting towels down at 1.30am from her balcony.
“We were annoyed because the people who were doing it didn’t sit around the pool until later afternoon.
“I was happy she pulled them off so other people actually got a chance to get a bed when they wanted to sit around the pool in the morning.”
Ellie, who was holidaying in Cyprus with her mum, said she was happy the move gave other holidaymakers a chance to grab a bed for a morning swim or some sunbathing.
And while there was no drama – the towel owners going back to their old ways the very next day – the bold move made it easier to find a spot by the pool for a while.
She added: “It’s selfish.
“I completely understand the need of getting a bed early but 1.30am putting towels out when you have no intentions of being there in the morning is ridiculous.”
According to travel experts at insurance comparison site Tiger, guests can face fines of up to €250 (£210) for reserving a sunbed while on holiday. The company said: “In popular areas of Spain like Barcelona and Costa Blanca, tourists can now be fined €250 for reserving sunbeds, meaning waking up early to bag a spot for you and the family is no longer allowed.
“This rule was introduced following numerous complaints about sunbeds being reserved for hours with no one in sight.”
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