Orihuela is the latest municipality to announce that all of its beaches will be closed overnight, Wednesday 23-24 June in order to guarantee the safety of its residents.

A spokesman said that all 11 beaches will be closed from 8.30pm in order to avoid the large crowds and bonfires that are traditional across Spain on the feast day.

Councils across the Costa Blanca are all closing their beaches with Alicante and Torrevieja announcing that they will be using drones to monitor attendance by the public.

Hundreds of extra police officers will also be deployed in order to  prevent the lighting of bonfires and consumption of alcohol with the promise of heavy fines for those caught disobeying local instructions.