Benidorm excess - A step too far?

Benidorm is renowned for being a party capital 24/7 especially for stag and hen groups.

Many of us welcome holidaymakers to indulge and have fun - but I believe there is a limit to what is acceptable.

In last week's Alicante province newspaper Información there were some very disturbing pictures splashed across the front page depicting what ' the British' get up to!

They featured a man tied to a pole in the middle of a bar totally naked.

Fortunately this is only a minority but it does nothing for the image of Brits abroad, already labelled as boozy foul-mouthed lager louts by most of Europe.

Following the publication of 'that picture' in the Spanish press the town hall has announced it is looking to introduce some kind of bylaw to curb this excess and lewd behaviour in public.

Councillors are obviously worried that the image will tarnish the reputation of the resort and put many off, in particular families, and are therefore taking action.

Authorities have spent many years trying to improve the perceived image of Benidorm, which is often featured in the British press in a negative light - usually by those who haven't actually been here!

This behaviour is totally unacceptable. Have fun, get drunk - the aim of many - but please, if you really insist on getting your clothes off then do it somewhere private. Would you really want your children or parents being exposed to this excess in a public bar? The manager of the establishment involved should really have stopped it before it got this far, but then if there were only say two or three young girls serving they probably would have felt intimidated with a group of tanked up lads.

Would these groups, mainly stag and hens, behave like this back in their home towns? I am fairly confident that the answer would be no.

Yes I accept that they are on holiday but 'we' have to live here year round. I also appreciate that they leave a lot of money in bars but they are only here for a few months of the year.

Benidorm relies on attracting visitors year round and images such as this will put many off coming here - and see the demise of what is a beautiful resort with plenty to offer apart from cheap booze!

I know that I am not alone in thinking this way, as I have spoken to many people who are appalled at the behaviour they have witnessed.

Many already avoid the obvious stag and hen season, which is generally April/May time and the 'English Square' which is the area they tend to frequent.

For many families it is already a no-go zone as they complain it is turning seedy, with semi naked podium dancers gyrating in front of the bars.

Let's just hope the resort doesn't turn into another Magaluf or Ayia Napa. Let's not forget, it wasn't until the early 1950s that this former fishing village was revolutionized when the then mayor, Pedro Zaragoza, famously hopped on his Vespa and rode 300 miles to Madrid to ask General Franco's permission for ladies to wear bikinis on the beach!

Tourists flocked here with the arrival of cheap package holidays, initially flying into Manises, Valencia, as it was the closest airport - then from 1967 into El Altet in Alicante.

The British market is the biggest and most important percentage of visitors to the resort thanks to their continued loyalty. Let's hope that the actions of the minority do not change that view.