Beautiful country where British tourists face £75k fine for breaking little known law

Have you ever scooped up some sand as a holiday keepsake without giving it a second thought?

You may want to think twice before you do it again, because taking sand from these three popular vacation spots could not only cost you more than your entire trip but could even land you in prison.

In the stunning island of , removing sand from any beach can cost you up to £75,000 as sand is a limited source for the island.

In 2020, a French tourist was fined £890 for having two kilograms of sand in his luggage in .

Sardinia can fine up to about £2,600 for those caught taking stones, sand and shells in their suitcases.

However for those trying to take larger quantities of sand from the island, the risk could even be between one and six years of prison.

In fact, a French couple in 2019, caught with 40kg of sand, faced a possible prison sentence of up to six years.

In 2018, Skiathos, a Greek island and most popular island of the Sporades, imposed fines of up to £850 to combat pebble theft on Lalaria Beach.

Environmental Scientist, Pierluigi Cocco told the in 2019 following the arrest of the French couple: “Only a fraction of the tourists visiting Sardinia spend their time digging up to 40kg of sand each.

“But if you multiply half that amount times five per cent of the one million tourists per year that would contribute significantly to the reduction of beaches.”

Back in the UK, removing stones from public beaches can result in fines up to £1,000 under the Coastal Protection Act of 1949.

In May 2024, Cumberland Council told people they could be fined up to £1000 for taking away pebbles and shells to protect coastal erosion.

Taking pebbles and sand could significantly damage coastal erosion and wildlife.

The Act states that taking natural matter from beaches in the UK taking is illegal to protect beaches “against erosion and encroachment by the sea”.