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Tourist fined £900 after trying to catch flight with 2kg of sand in his luggage


A tourist has been fined for stealing sand from a beach in Sardinia (Picture: Getty)

A French tourist has been fined after attempting to fly out of Sardinia with almost 2kg of the Italian island’s precious sand in his luggage.

The holidaymaker was ordered to pay a €1,000 (£900) penalty after being stopped trying to board a flight home. Jail sentences can be imposed under rules to protect the Mediterranean island’s renowned beaches, where the pristine sands are considered a precious natural resource.

The unnamed man was taken into custody at Cagliari Elmas Airport after being found in possession of a bottle containing the memento on Tuesday, September 1.

A spokesman for the island’s Forest Rangers told CNN: ‘The bottle was confiscated and is in now in our operating room where we hold these confiscated items. At the end of the year we usually have many bottles of sand accumulated.’

Sardinia’s protected sand is described as ‘so soft it feels like flour’ by tourism association Sardegna Turismo.

Islanders have complained for many years about tourists removing the sand, along with stones and seashells, with a Facebook group called ‘Sardinia robbed and plundered’ showing people filling plastic bottles and bags with natural souvenirs.

In 2017, a regional law was introduced making it illegal to take sand from the island’s beaches.

Chia beach in the south of Sardinia

Fines of between €500 and €3,000 (£451 – £2,700) can be issued, depending on the quantity removed and where it was taken from.

The Forest Rangers spokesman said that ‘incredible’ beaches with white, pink or coloured sand are usually targeted.

He added: ‘Last year we found a website that was selling our sand as souvenirs.

‘It’s become a very known phenomenon here in Europe.’

Members of the public are encouraged to inform the authorities if they see people taking the pristine sand.

A woman floats in the water off one of Sardinia’s unspoilt beaches

‘The sanctions are much more serious — we work with the police and they alert us,’ the spokesman said.

Police seized 39kg of sand from a French couple visiting the island last year, according to CNN.

A British resident was fined £760 in 2018 for removing the natural resource from a beach near the northern city of Olbia.

Around two tonnes of sand are confiscated every year at Olbia Airport alone, where systematic bag checks are carried out.

Gianni Lampis, regional councillor for environmental protection, has said: ‘Every grain of sand is a piece of our future disappearing.

‘We have to explain to young people that we must fight such behaviour.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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