A female sunbather has been injured after being bitten by a wild boar which rushed out of the sea on a Costa Blanca beach.
Footage shows locals and tourists screaming and taking cover as the wild boar runs over their towels and along the beach.
Lifeguards managed to chase the animal away from the beach and crowded seafront bars and cafes before it caused any more problems.
Emergency responders were alerted just after 11am at El Albir beach just north of Benidorm.
The animal had been spotted in the water by boat crews who tried to catch it, but were then forced to alert lifeguards as it began to head for dry land.
While it is not known how the animal ended up in the sea, it is thought to have come from the nearby Serra Gelada Natural Park, which consists of over 5,000 acres of coastline which stretches through the Benidorm, Alfaz del Pi and Altea regions.
The boar rushed out of the water while tourists were sunning themselves and enjoying the weather.
Lifeguards sounded the alarm as the wild animal ran around the beach in south Spain, terrorising the sunbathers.
Footage shows locals and tourists screaming and taking cover as the wild boar runs over their towels and along the beach
Beachgoers tried to catch the boar but were unsuccessful in containing the beast before it injured a woman bitten on the leg
It is thought to have come from the nearby Serra Gelada Natural Park, which consists of over 5,000 acres of protected coastline in the municipalities of Benidorm, Alfaz del Pi and Altea
The boar collided with the woman and bit her, though it is not known whether the bite was intention, said medics who treated the injured woman at a local health centre.
The nationality of the 67-year-old woman hurt, the only person who was injured, is not yet known.
Medics cleansed her leg injury as a precaution, telling her to take antibiotics to prevent infection.
In a related announcement, the nearby city of Dénia is set to use archers to keep tourists safe from the problem of wild boars roaming town streets at night.
Local councillors confirmed they are in contact with expert archers in a bid to stop the animals eating farmers’ crops, causing traffic accidents, messing up golf courses and attacking humans – in what they say is a rare scenario.
The animals are leaving their natural habitat in the countryside to look for food.
Officials in Denia placed cage traps at points around the city to try to reduce the growing numbers of wild boar.
The cages were fitted with cameras to enable town hall chiefs to keep count on the amount of wild boars captured and avoid people getting trapped by mistake.
Local councillors said the cages had not worked however. Boar continued to eat farmers’ crops, cause traffic accidents, mess up golf courses and in worst case scenarios attacking humans.
The plan to use arrows as weapons has been drafted because bullets are forbidden.
The animal had been spotted in the water by boat crews who tried to catch it and saw it head for land
Wilf boar numbers have exploded across Europe, with the latest estimates now surpassing around 10 million of the animals across the continent
Boars can carry a wide variety of diseases and are increasingly drawn to cities, where they live off rubbish discarded by human
Denia’s environment councillor Maite Perez Conejero said at a full council meeting officials were in talks with the Hunting Federation in Alicante, coordinating an operation involving hunters in different parts of the municipality.
She said she was confident that in just over a fortnight draft proposals outlining how the scheme would work on public and private land would be in place.
Barcelona resident Xavier Bosch said he was bitten by a wild boar near the city’s Tibidado Amusement Park after going with his family to star gaze.
Wild boar numbers have exploded across Europe, with the latest estimates now surpassing around 10 million of the animals across the continent.
Boars can carry a wide variety of diseases and are increasingly drawn to cities, where they live off rubbish discarded by humans.
