British holidaymakers staying at a four-star hotel in Spain have been prevented from leaving via the front door - after local police said it was not conforming with tourism regulations and locked it up.
Photos from today show steel cables and a large notice on the entrance to the Vivemar Hotel on the Costa del Sol saying 'precintado' or 'sealed off' in English.
Around 200 guests staying at the hotel in the popular resort of Benalmadena Costa are now having to exit the establishment via a ground-floor garage.
It is the latest development in a backlash against tourism in Spain that also saw furious protesters take to the streets of Mallorca and Ibiza at the weekend.
A spokesperson for the local town hall said it had instructed police to seal off the front entrance to the hotel after it failed to see it listed in the official tourist accommodation register.
