Outage as treasure hunters dig up protected sand dune after influencers 'buried a thousand euros in nature reserve and told followers to find it' in Gran Canaria

Treasure hunters have sparked outrage by digging up a protected sand dune nature reserve after influencers buried €1,000 (£850) and told followers to find it in Gran Canaria. 

The money was buried at the Maspalomas Dunes in the San Bartolomé de Tirajana municipality in the south of the island.

A group of influencers had posted a video that said: 'Let's go for the €1,000!' 

Excited crowds then gathered to look for a briefcase containing the money, buried to create publicity for a concert.

Followers flocked to the site on Saturday armed with spades and shovels to search for the money, news website Tiempo de Canarias reports.

A group could be seen running across the sand towards the hidden briefcase, before digging with their spades and bare hands. 

Excited crowds gathered to look for a briefcase containing the money at the Maspalomas Dunes in the south of the island, buried to create publicity for a concert 

The Maspalomas Dunes in the San Bartolomé de Tirajana municipality in the south of Gran Canaria

'We have been given €1,000 for the promotion of the event, and instead of burning it in TV commercials we are going to hide them around the island,' the promotional video noted.

'The first person to find it gets to keep it.'

The Gran Canaria council is investigating the incident that took place in the nature reserve in a protected area and it is set to prepare a complaint to be filed with the Prosecutor's Office, according to Tiempo de Canarias.

The company promoting the concert is also being investigated, The Times reports. 

DN7 Festival hired a collective of social media activists to promote the event. 

They are accused of ignoring the fact that the reserve is a protected area with a unique and fragile ecosystem, according to the newspaper. 

Followers flocked to the site on Saturday armed with spades and shovels to search for the money

In September, the authorities vowed to get extra-tough on visitors breaking the law by having sex in the dunes, which can cause damage to the ecosystem. The swingers were thought to include a high proportion of Brits.

The tiny island off the northwest coast of Africa that is part of the eight-member Canary Islands archipelago and a longtime favourite of Brits seeking sunshine has been dishing out record fines to al fresco sex tourists since the practice became popular after the pandemic. 

A local government official was quoted by Spanish-language media as saying as the authorities began formulating a plan to stop all the al fresco sex.

'Since the pandemic ended, people have gone crazy,' the official said. 

Research carried out by Professor Patrick Hesp, of Flinders University in Australia, found almost 300 'cruising hotspots' in the 1,000-acre Maspalomas Dunes nature reserve.

The dunes - a major tourist attraction - are home to unique plant and animal species, and shrubs help to anchor the ever-moving sands to stop them from blowing into the nearby Atlantic Ocean.

Officials on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria have targeted swingers in the sand dunes - thought to include a high proportion of Brits

Authorities vowed to get extra-tough on visitors breaking the law by having sex in the dunes, which can cause damage to the stunning yet fragile ecosystem 

Authorities have warned that tourists keen to strip off for sex with strangers among the bushes are not only damaging plant life but scaring away birds and lizards and leaving behind heaps of beer cans, cigarette butts and used condoms.

Measures to control the throngs of Dunes-goers were put in place in 2000, with environmental officers patrolling the area and handing out fines of around €150 for anyone caught straying beyond roped-off areas.

But last year, as tourism surged following two years of Covid travel restrictions, the number of fines soared six-fold to 120 compared to just 20 in 2022, the local authorities said.

Tourists and foreign residents in Playa del Ingles were outsmarting the environmental officers by tipping each other off about where and when they spot them and what time they leave the area, according to Facebook sex group postings.

Some advised that it is 'safe' to go to the dunes for casual sex after 2pm or 3pm, by which time the patrolling officers have clocked off for the day.