When pyromaniacs are not burning down our forest lands, they're torching parked cars and even, in the case of Benalmádena, a beach-lounger business.

This arson attack took place on Playa Kilito right below Hotel Aleixa Playa and the lounger & sunshade set up targeted has been around since 1981 – they have never had something like this happen to them before.

The normal sort of act of vandalism that they have experienced is when somebody steals a lounger cushion or when kids on a botellón use one of the beds, breaking it, but torching sun beds and thatched umbrellas? – Never.

They had turned up the same as everyday of the summer season to get it all ready for customers on Tuesday to find over a dozen thatched sunshades completely burnt out, 24 sun loungers and 60 lounger mattresses damaged, many beyond repair.

The vandals had started with a pile of mattresses, which, like everybody else’s in this type of business, is tied down with a plastic over the top. When they went up, the fire soon spread.

The owners of this family-run business immediately reported it to the Policía Local and put the total cost of the damage at around 10,000 euros. They admitted that they didn’t have insurance coverage for the material lost, which is the case of most beach-lounger businesses along Spain’s coast.

Fortunately other such business owners have helped out with what equipment they could spare so that the affected family would not be completely ruined with at least a month of trade still to go.

Several eyewitness have reported to the police what they saw from the beachfront promenade as they were passing, which is helping with the police enquiries.

(News/Noticias: Benalmadena, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia)