British holidaymakers could be fined hundreds of pounds if they're caught weeing in the sea after a local council introduced a strict ban.
Tourists in the Spanish city of Vigo who relieve themselves in the water face a penalty of €750 (£645).
Authorities in the city, which is located close to the border with Portugal in the north-western region of Galicia, have moved to ban “physiological evacuation on the beach or in the sea', The Times reports.
No details of how the new rule will be enforced have been made available but additional public facilities are being introduced to the region's beaches.
As well as banning urinating in the sea, officials have also outlawed using soap or shampoo in the water and washing cooking utensils in the ocean.
The council also plans to encourage healthy living by banning smoking on certain beaches, which it is also hoped will reduce pollution from cigarette butts.
The move is not the first time that a local council in Galicia has introduced strict regulations for beach-goers.
Around 100 miles to the north in Mino, authorities have issued guidance giving swimmers and sunbathers preferential treatment, with those wanting to take part in aquatic sports only able to do so after 10am.
Vigo is not the first city in Spain to ban weeing in the sea.
San Pedro del Pinatar in Murcia outlawed the practice in 2017, along with measures banning nudity, reserving a place on the beach with a towel and playing bat and ball. Contravening the nudity ban can lead to a fine of €750.
Penalties of up to €1,500 are issued for lighting fires or barbecues, while San Pedro del Pinatar's beach code states anyone selling food or drink without the correct licence can be fined as much as €3,000.
Beach laws in Spain vary wildly between the extremely strict and fairly lax.
In Barcelona, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca, fines of up to €300 can be issued for walking down the street wearing a bikini, or in swimming trunks without a T-shirt.
However, the southern city of Cadiz recently repealed a ban on nudity at certain beaches, leaving all of the area's seaside resorts welcoming of nudists.
