Swarms of holidaymakers fought it out to nab sunbeds at the crack of dawn at a four-star hotel in Tenerife.
Alarming footage taken at Spring Hotel Bitacora, Playa de las Américas, shows scores descending to grab the best spots beside the swimming pool at the earliest possible time.
The holidaymakers, armed with towels, sun cream and swimming costumes, race to the sunbeds in the clip, which has been shared on social media site TikTok.
It's reported some determined tourists, including Brits, waited 90 minutes first thing in the morning before being allowed outside to the coveted sun loungers.
But writing online, some blasted the behaviour as "sad" and "embarrassing".
One social media user posted: "Sad. They take all their hostility and tensions with them on holiday."
Another stated: "Bunch of idiots."
A third person said: "Embarrassing or what..."
However, a minority argued reserving sunbeds with towels is essential during holidays, because hotels generally have a lack of them.
"You need to secure a sun lounger sometimes," one social media user wrote.
Some hotels discourage or even ban the act of reserving sun beds.
But, according to The Sun, the TikTok video captioned: "So I'm in Tenerife and everyone's running to secure their sunbed spot."
Chloe Turner, who recorded the footage, captioned her second clip: "Another day, another sunbed war' as rival groups advanced from all sides to claim their place."
Most of Europe, including Spain, is baking in a huge heatwave currently.
Spain saw its hottest July for 60 years as temperatures soared across the continent.
Temperatures have been as high as 37C by 7am in Spain, as the country has been hit by raging wildfires during the heatwave.
