Brits face fines if they're caught hogging the best bits of some Spanish beaches this summer.
For years the battle for the best spot by the pool has been ranging in Europe's warmest countries, with many holidaymakers in Spain waking up at the crack of dawn to slam their towel down to reserve a prime sunbed.
Now it seems that this practice has spread onto the public beaches of at least one sunny resort favoured by those who love a bit of cheap sun and sand.
The local council in Benidorm has said it is totally fed up with sunbathers flocking to the beach as early as 7am to grab the best spot right by the sea, placing their towels down once they've found it.
The holidaymakers are accused of then departing for a spot of breakfast or a nap before returning hours later, frustrating scores of other beachgoers unable to find a decent spot in the meantime.
Have you witnessed the sunbed or beach wars? Email webtravel@reachplc.com
Benidorm council says this has become a daily problem, with people placing towels, blankets, umbrellas and sunbeds to "reserve" their slots. For many, it has even become a "ritual".
Some even use baby pushchairs or shopping trolleys to mark out their territory on the often overcrowded beaches.
None of the resort's beaches are free from the controversial practice which resembles "the first row of a cinema or theatre", the council has said.
Now, the local authority is calling time on the practice, warning beachgoers that the first six metres between the water and the sand should not be occupied at any time.
This is to allow beach users the chance to walk along the shoreline and splash around in the shallows unhindered.
Benidorm council has also urged local people to act if they see any items obviously dumped to reserve a spot, calling on them to remove the offending gear.
As the war rumbles on, some tourists are taking matters into their own hands by physically clearing plots which have been reserved but not occupied for hours, which can lead to confrontation when the people eventually turn up.
Councillor for beaches Mónica Gómez told Spanish newspaper Informacion.es: "It's an issue that worries us and we are taking care of it."
In Spain hotels, as a means of levelling the playing field so it isn't just early birds who catch the lounger shaped worm, staff have kept pool areas closed until a certain time of the morning.
This year, necessity being the mother of invention, some people - presumably Brits given the expert queuing technique on show - have started lining their towels up outside the pool overnight.
"In an effort to control the sunbed madness, the door from the hotel to the pool area was kept locked until 8am," holidaymaker Geoff told The Mirror.
"So people were lining their towels up on the floor in a queue order by the door before it opened. I must add this wasn't youngsters, but mostly elderly and middle-aged people."
Geoff was visiting a four star hotel in the Camp de Mar region of Majorca, Spain when he witnessed the technique being deployed.
"The towel line actually went back much further (than the picture shows) and the owners were seated on the sofas just out of sight, ready to fly outside when the door was unlocked," he continued.
"I don't know what time they started, but we were up at 6.30am one morning to grab breakfast before an excursion, and there was already an established towel queue forming at the door. Crazy behaviour!"
