Spain’s Costa Blanca Police are Catching Selfish Madrid Families Making Holiday Trips in Spite of “Stay at Home” Rules.

SPECIAL police patrols in the Santa Pola area have been trapping people from as far away as Madrid travelling by car or van to go on holiday for Easter.

Despite the strict confinement rules under the State of Alarm, there have still been a number of attempts by people wanting to spend time at their holiday homes.

Santa Pola Local Police, in conjunction with the Guardia Civil, have ramped up their checks at key entrances to Santa Pola and Gran Alacant.

Eight vehicles were ordered to return to where they came from, with most of them crammed full of luggage.

Some had travelled for a short time from Alicante and Elche, but officers said that they turned back cars from Madrid, Elda, and Novelda.

There was criticism prior to the State of Alarm that Madrid residents had decided to decamp and head for their holiday homes in areas like the Costa Blanca.

With Madrid being a hotspot for Covid-19, it was believed that the spread of the virus to Alicante Province became more substantial because of their actions.

Santa Pola police also reported that cars for both long and short distance journeys are seeing families with more than one vehicle making trips in their two cars, with a maximum of two people in each of them.

They also note that long distance travellers are trying to get in during the night to the Santa Pola area.

However, patrols are operating around the clock, including police cars being positioned in secluded areas to trap offenders.