Bizarre Benidorm theft as tourist is caught lounging on beach in stolen chair

A bizarre beach theft in Benidorm has gone viral after a tourist was allegedly caught relaxing on the sand in a chair that had been taken from a local trader.

The incident was captured on camera and shared on social media by local shopkeeper Xu, whose TikTok account regularly highlights alleged thefts and attempted thefts at his Benidorm business.

This time, however, he did not have to rely on CCTV alone to identify the culprit.

Shopkeeper spots his stolen chair on beach

Xu noticed through his shop’s security cameras that a customer had taken one of the folding beach chairs from the store without paying.

The chair was worth €45 and, crucially, still had its price marking attached.

Rather than simply writing off the loss, Xu went looking for the missing chair in the area around his shop.

He soon found it sitting on the sand beside the sea, with the tourist’s belongings still on it while she was apparently swimming.

Xu immediately recognised the chair and checked the metal frame, where the handwritten €45 price marking he had put on it was still clearly visible.

It provided a remarkably simple way of proving that the chair belonged to his shop.

Police called to the beach

The situation became more serious when Xu called local police to the scene on Benidorm beach.

When the tourist came out of the water and was questioned, she reportedly claimed that taking the chair had simply been a mistake.

According to the local report, she told police that she and her husband had arrived in Benidorm the previous day and that her husband had taken the chair “by mistake”.

However, Xu had another piece of evidence.

His shop’s CCTV footage reportedly showed the woman entering the store, taking a folding chair from a shelf and leaving without paying. The footage also showed that the chair’s identification tag had not been removed.

The handwritten €45 marking on the metal frame provided further evidence when Xu showed the chair to officers.

What might otherwise have been a case of one missing beach chair had therefore turned into a police intervention on the sand.

TikTok viewers have their say

The footage has prompted plenty of amusement and disbelief on TikTok, with viewers particularly entertained by the explanation that the chair had been taken “by mistake”.

A lot of people applauded the shopkeepeer. One viewer wrote: “Bravo to the seller, we need more people like this and fewer like the woman.”

Another commenter took aim at the €45 price tag, joking: “€45 for the chair, eh? A thief stealing from a thief.”

One viewer was particularly unimpressed by the suggestion that the chair had been taken accidentally, writing: “I hope the policeman saying she accidentally took the chair was sarcasm… because she stole it. Full stop.”

The combination of the CCTV footage, the handwritten price and the unlikely beach discovery has clearly struck a chord with viewers.

@tiktok.ueibermutua agrncia tributaria #海外生活 #小偷 #🇪🇸 #turismo #parti #viral #tienda #camaradeseguridad #policia @Melina Hotel @Agencia tributaria @tesorería.es @Agencia Tributaria #autonomo ♬ – I'm xu

Xu’s social media crime-fighting strategy

The incident has also attracted attention because of Xu’s use of social media to expose suspected thefts from his business.

On his TikTok account the shopkeeper regularly shares footage from his security cameras when he believes customers have stolen from or attempted to steal from his store.

His videos have become a way of publicly highlighting what he sees as tourists taking advantage of local businesses, with clips often generating large numbers of views and comments.

The chair-faced cheek of this latest incident has definitely stirred up a big reaction.