After announcing a crack down on illegal street traders last week it seems that Marbella City Council is on a mission to clean up the city’s reputation by announcing further enforcement, this time on illegal beach massages. When it comes to offering massages we often think of seedy clubs offering massages behind blacked-out windows but what’s been going on across Marbella’s beaches is less sinister. It’s simply a case that unlicensed and unqualified masseurs are selling massage services to beach-goers.

A new law banning them from the beaches was introduced last year, however it hasn’t reduced the number of them operating in the area with 24 fines handed out in the last month alone and figures suggest a further 1,300 messages have been stopped since the 15th of June.

Registered physiotherapists have warned that receiving a massage from an unqualified masseur can cause injury and infectious disease. Opinion on the beaches seems to be mixed with some saying they prefer the cheap massages that are available from the unregistered masseurs whilst others found their sheer presence to be irritating.