Watch droves of ‘selfish’ Brits swarm ‘like ants’ around ITV’s Benidorm hotel pool – forcing family to perch on chairs

THIS is the moment a flood of selfish Brits swarmed like ants around ITV’s infamous Benidorm hotel forcing families to perch on chairs. A mum has now mocked the “selfish middle-aged fellas” she claims queue for hours before charging into the pool area to bag the best sunbeds. Moment a flood of selfish Brits storm around ITV’s infamous Benidorm hotel Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk Annie Redfern has blasted the selfish middle aged men who queue for hours before the poolside opens Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk Annie Redfern was staying at Sol Pelicanos Ocas hotel in Benidorm with her partner Declan Nash, 30, and seven-year-old daughter Belle when she witnessed the bizarre poolside battle. The marketing consultant was stunned to discover holidaymakers had already staked their claim to the loungers before her family had even settled into their ten-night break. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Annie initially arrived at 11.30am to find every sunbed snapped up, but assumed the beds were simply taken because it was midday. At 6.30am the following day, Annie spotted a huge queue of holidaymakers waiting to bag a lounger – despite the pool not opening until 9am. She said the crazy daily ritual happened every morning, with the line made up largely of what she described as “middle-aged men”. As soon as the barrier opened, the sunseekers would swarm like “ants” into the pool area, racing to claim their territory at the hotel, better known as Solana Hotel on the television show Annie said the sunbed stampede meant her family were forced to perch on plastic chairs if they wanted to spend time beside the pool. The mum-of-one filmed the bizarre scenes and shared them on TikTok, where the clip has racked up more than 192,000 views. Most read in The Sun Annie, from Hull, East Yorkshire, said: “We thought if we’re going to go to Benidorm, we might as well see what the Benidorm hotel is like. “We arrived there at 11.30am and there were no beds but obviously at that point we just thought it was because it was midday. “The next morning, I started seeing queues starting at 6.30am, at this point I didn’t even know what time the pool even opened. “We had gone down to go and get a latte and there were just loads of people all lining up. “I can’t believe that’s how you spend your holiday, it’s crazy. “You see them go, put a towel on the bed then run off straight to the breakfast then eat the breakfast then run straight back. It was a whole routine. Annie and her daughter Belle, 7, were forced to perch on plastic chairs all day Credit: KENNEDY NEWS & MEDIA At 6.30am the following day, Annie spotted a huge queue of holidaymakers waiting to bag a lounger Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk “What we realised was either wives were sending their husbands or the husbands were just doing it because so many of the line was made up of middle-aged men. “It was just like a sea of people.” Annie said the only escape from the sunbed scrum was waiting until around 5pm, when holidaymakers began heading out for their evening meals. Until then, her family had little choice but to use plastic chairs when they were not swimming or playing in the pool. She said: “You can just go sit at a table and obviously I’ve got a child so we’re always in the pool anyway so I don’t really get much sunbathing. “It was funny but then about 5pm, people would obviously go out for tea because then the beds would start becoming available and that was the only time without getting in that queue that you could get a bed. “It’s selfish. Maybe do it one or two times so you can get a spot or have a day on the sunbeds, but there was one woman and she was at the front every single day. “They [people queueing] were speed walking and as soon as the guy would come down and open the barrier, it was like ants. “It [the video] caused uproar, I didn’t expect people to get so angry about Benidorm “Benidorm divides the UK it’s like Marmite, you either love it or you hate it.” The Benidorm sunbed row sparked a furious reaction online, with some viewers saying they would rather holiday elsewhere. One wrote: “My idea of hell this is.” Another commented: “I’d rather go to Blackpool in the winter.” A third added: “I love Benidorm but I would never lose sleep when [there’s so much more you can do in Benidorm.” Comment now