Benidorm Brits threatened with £25,000 fines and even PRISON if they refuse to stay indoors in coronavirus lockdown

SPANISH cops today stepped up their operation to force people to stay indoors with stark warnings of prison time and massive £25,000 fines.

Officers drove up and down beaches on the Costas with megaphones telling those breaking the nationwide lockdown to abandon the sands or face the consequences.

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Helicopters and drones were also used to ensure locals and tourists confined themselves to their homes and hotels to stem the spread of coronavirus.

In Benidorm, worried town hall officials even used emergency loud speakers mounted on cars to demand holidaymakers stay off the streets.

Some of the first caught flouting the government orders escaped fines this morning after agreeing to return home immediately.

However, others were hit hard after being outside without a good reason and picked up costly on-the-spot penalties.

One man was arrested in the Basque town of Santurzi after allegedly trying to attack police when they tried to get him to leave a club breaching shutdown laws.

And the owner of a cafe in Malaga which opened and tried to serve customers in a makeshift lock-in is also said to have been shut down and hit with a hefty fine.

A police helicopter was mobilised to fly over the Costa del Sol to help officers on the ground identify obvious targets including Sunday joggers and cyclists.

And in Madrid police had prepared for the lockdown by sending up a drone to relay the warning to stay indoors.

Fines range from £90 for people who remove security cordons designed to shut down off-limits areas like beaches to more than £25,000 for those who refuse to identify themselves during police stops.

Those fined today after being caught running or cycling are thought to have been hit with fines of between £545 and £1,360.

Those who commit “serious” breaches of the lockdown have been warned they could also face prison sentences as well as fines topping £500,000.

Footage posted on Twitter - by @IrenaInBenidorm - showed virtually deserted streets in Benidorm as eerie warnings were played on Saturday night.

The speakers blasted in Spanish then English: "Attention please. An emergency state has been activated due to the coronavirus.

"You must stay safely at your accommodation or home and follow instructions from local authorities.

"Avoid beach areas and promenades. Keep a safe distance from other people.

"Stay at home. Thank you and sorry for the inconvenience."

Photos from the resort taken hours earlier showed Brits guzzling beer in the street after it was revealed bars and clubs in the resort are to be closed for at least a fortnight.

A no-nonsense ban came into force in Spain on Saturday allowing people to leave their homes or hotels only under certain "emergency" conditions.

They include going to buy food and pharmaceutical products, getting to their workplace, visiting hospitals and filling their cars up with petrol.

However, cops in Benidorm had run-ins with boozy Brits as they tried to enforce a crackdown on groups of people drinking on the street.

Officers armed with batons had to break up one group around 3pm local time on Saturday at the notorious Costa Blanca resort town.

Reinforcements arrived as two local cops struggled to get them to move on.

One officer could be seen using force to push several people away as a colleague dealt with others who appeared to be resisting attempts to move them on.

A couple of hours later police had to deal with another large group of Brits who were drinking out of one-litre lager bottles and cans near the same spot in Benidorm’s Levante Beach area.

On Saturday JET2 and TUI cancelled hundreds of flights to Spain with planes forced to turn around mid-air in the coronavirus chaos.

At least five Jet2 flights heading to Malaga and Alicante from the UK had to perform a dramatic U-turn.

Jet2 - based at nine UK airports and flies to Benidorm, Malaga and Lanzarote - cancelled all flights to mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands for at least the next seven days.