EXCLUSIVE – On your marks, get set – GO! Costa del Sol holidaymakers race for loungers when referee’s whistle is blown (and some Brits reveal their towels are removed by rivals) as sunbed wars heat up

The morning rush to grab a lounger before it’s all gone has long been a ritual for Brits holidaying on the Costa del Sol.

Vacationers can sometimes barely wait for the sunrise when they spring into action, grabbing the recliners before they disappear like hotcakes.

Now, one hotel has gotten in on the craziness, with a referee blowing a whistle to let guests know when it’s time to be ready, set, set.

Hilarious footage shows the moment tourists are whistled as they rush to collect their loungers for the day.

The tourist captured the images at the Parasol Garden in Malaga, which is close to the Hotel Estival Torrequebrada, where MailOnline reported that other eager bathers soaked up the sun last week.

Other holidaymakers in southern Spain were caught grabbing poolside loungers early in the morning.

Craig Trapps, who was staying at the Hotel Estival Torrequebrada in Malaga, videotaped the other hilarious moment.

Mr Trapps said: ‘I managed to get into the pool area before it opened! As you can see, the guy takes about EIGHT loungers.

“The Spanish took my towels and it got nasty and almost ended in a fight.

“I almost ended up fighting with a Spaniard who literally threw my towels off the beds!”

Earlier this week, Mail Online reported that other tourists at the same hotel Waited up to two hours to find prime spots to grab a lounger.

In a very British scene in southern Spain, men and women turned up long before the beach and pools opened to make sure they got the best spot, most bringing a chair and a good book to pass the time.

But one witness said that once the gate was opened each morning, ‘madness’ ensued, with ‘people literally running around’. Some parents pushed their kids to run and grab a lounger because they are fitter and faster.

Charlotte Chartell told MailOnline that people were lining up for chairs as she read ‘since they’ve been there so long’.

But he also concluded ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’, after his initial surprise that people were lining up for a lounger every day.

Ms Chartell said: ‘There are two pools, but only one for children, so everyone wants to get as close to the slides as possible too. There are definitely not enough sunbeds for the number of guests in the hotel.

“But as soon as the lifeguard opens the door, people literally run in, someone sent their children running ahead of the adults. It’s crazy. I was there the week before the holidays started, so God knows what it’s like now.’

Holidaymakers from all over the Costa del Sol have been seen competing with each other to get poolside loungers at the time the sites open.

Footage from the weekend shows a huge line of people in festive attire standing in a line as they wait to get their hands on the best beds.

It comes after holidaymakers in Tenerife were criticized as ‘lounger warriors’ after they were seen setting up sun loungers at 6.30am, three and a half hours before the pool opened.

Images from Benalmádena, Costa del Sol, show hundreds of tourists waiting outside the pool area, only to start running for sun loungers as soon as they could.

People queue for sun loungers at the Hotel Estival Torrequebrada, near Malaga. Many brought chairs and a good book as they waited for nearly two hours before the beach and pool opened.

A tourist at the resort, Laury Mackie, told MailOnline: ‘The gates open at 10am and you’re gone.

‘There is a clear strategy… look at the determination in the directions they take. Look at the lifeguard and the maintenance guy clearly taking the mick’.

One man even appears to run and grab two lounge chairs from the corner of the area, put them on his back, and carry them to his preferred spot.

‘Then there’s the world’s strongest father who throws two deckchairs over his shoulder,’ said Ms Mackie.

“Interestingly, most dads seem to be running in one particular direction… towards self-serve beer.”

She added: ‘It’s a fun sight as we all calmly wait to get into the adults-only pool.

‘The kiddie pool reminded me of the parent race on sports day at school…absolutely hilarious! I’d say there were over 100 there every morning, God knows when they set up camp.

People at the front of the line seem more desperate for space, running ahead of the crowd, while those at the back look more defeated.

Holidaymakers on the Costa del Sol have been seen competing with each other to nab poolside loungers the moment the gates open.

The footage shows a huge line of people in festive attire standing in a line as they wait to get their hands on the best beds.

Footage in Benalmádena, Costa del Sol, shows hundreds of tourists waiting outside the pool area, only to start running for sun loungers as soon as the doors open.

Similarly, Spanish locals were seen before dawn to set out their towels in a prime spot on a Costa Blanca beach last week.

Torrevieja’s early risers proudly planted their flags on the sand before the sun even rose.

They began settling in at 5:30am, just after council cleaners finished their night shift, as similar scenes also played out just over an hour’s drive away in the popular Benidorm holiday resort.

A local man stuck his parasol, the red and yellow of the Spanish national flag, into the sand and placed his lounger next to it before disappearing.

Another even planted a mini Spanish flag on top of his parasol, standing next to it with his arms folded in front of him as if defending his territory against marauding foreigners.

The locals have been seen before dawn to place their towels in a privileged place on a beach on the Costa Blanca.

The early risers of Torrevieja last week proudly planted their flags in the sand before the sun even rose

Spanish early risers began preparing for the day around 5:30 am, just after municipal cleaners finished their night shift.

Mónica Gómez, Benidorm Councilor for Beaches and the Environment, said last month: ‘There are also people who take out their belongings at this time of the morning and go home, and that is something that is not allowed.

‘The statutes mean that local police have the power to act when items are left on the beach in this way and create conflicts between beachgoers and they always act when necessary to mediate and try to resolve disputes to ensure both parties can enjoy a good day in the sand

‘If it is proven that someone has abandoned their parasol or sun lounger, the police have the power to remove it.

‘Generally the objects are left on the beach itself, by one of the entry points or by the lifeguard tower.

‘That means that when the person in question goes to collect them, they can be warned that this is something they shouldn’t be doing, so they can be urged not to do it again.

“We always appeal to the personal responsibility of people so that we all exercise the correct use of our beaches and enjoy them.

“However, if people persist in this type of behavior of abandoning sunbeds and umbrellas and generate conflict with other beach users, the police can sanction them for repeating an illegal practice.”