Thousands of demonstrators swarmed resorts on the Canary Islands on Sunday[/caption]
Tourists on the beach are swamped by demonstrators telling them to ‘go home’[/caption]
In Gran Canaria, hundreds gathered in Maspalomas with signs reading: “Go Home Tourists.â€
Lee Pattemore, 44, was trapped inside the Riu hotel with wife Stacey, 39, and their two daughters, aged 11 and six.
He told The Sun: “They were circling the hotel. My daughter was asking me, ‘Daddy, why are they shouting?’â€
Photos showed chaos outside the gates of the hotel as cops tried to regain control.
Landscaping boss Lee, of Epsom, Surrey, said: “There was a lot of pushing and shoving.
“We’re too scared to leave the hotel now.â€
In Tenerife’s Playa de las Americas, 2,000 activists stormed Troya Beach, surrounding shocked Brits in their swimwear and chanting: “This beach is ours.â€
Protesters also marched in La Palma, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and El Hierro under the slogan “The Canaries Have A Limit†— calling for a more sustainable tourism.
They say locals are priced out of the housing market and tourism is ruining the environment.
Activist Daniel Cabrera said: “We want tourism — we do not want over-exploitation and garbage tourism that does not benefit the local economy.â€
Furious anti-tourism protesters in Tenerife stormed a beach at a Brit holiday hotspot[/caption]
Flag-waving residents beat drums and blew whistles as they wandered along the shoreline in Playa de las Americas[/caption]