UK tourists in Tenerife warned to pay £340 or face 'sleeping in a tent'

UK tourists have been warned to avoid Spain - as locals are forced to live in TENTS amid a Cost of Living crisis. In recent days and weeks, people living in the European Union holiday hotspot have been protesting and demonstrating over an influx of Brits.

The rise of tourism has left locals unhappy, amid complaints over unaffordable housing and a lack of jobs. Now, it has emerged waiters in a Spain holiday hotspot are being forced to live in TENTS as a tourist property boom sees slum-like shanty towns spring up.

Low-paid service workers who are crucial to the tourism industry are being pushed out of the market because of the boom in holiday rentals in Tenerife. José, a 65-year-old kitchen assistant who works in a hotel, told The Telegraph how he was forced out of his apartment last year.

READ MORE Drivers warned they will 'fail MOT' over rule which is a 'grey area'

He was forced out of the apartment he used to rent for €400 (£340) a month last year when its owners turned it into a short-term rental for holidaymakers. “Now anything with one or two bedrooms costs at least €900. I earn minimum wage, €1,100. If I have to pay that kind of rent, then we won’t be able to eat. Here we eat by cooking on gas,” said Colombia native José, who has lived in Tenerife for 30 years.

José, who lives with his wife and two grandchildren in their care, moved into the abandoned building where 120 families were squatting. There was no electricity or running water but he was charged €1,000 for the privilege.

“I thought he was the owner, but now we know he was just a swindler," he said. “There is plenty of building going on in this area, but it is always for the tourism market,” said José. “Tourism is boss here; money talks,” said Jesús Antonio, also from Colombia.

Jesus told the Telegraph he works on the building sites for luxury apartments and added: “There is no social housing. So who is tourism for if it is not doing anything for the people who make it work?”