Wish you were here! British expats in Benidorm carry on boozing in the sunshine

British ex-pats have been celebrating with beers in the Benidorm sunshine as their families back home brace for an arctic blast and six inches of snow before the New Year.

Britons who moved over to Spain for a warmer climate were today pictured enjoying pints inside a cafe amid news the UK could be covered in a blanket of the white stuff this week.

More than six inches of snow could fall in Britain before New Year’s Day, with the severe conditions affecting shopping deliveries and raising fears vulnerable and self-isolating families could be left without supplies. 

Meanwhile, ex-pats grinned as they guzzled drinks at a cafe in the Valencian Community – which reported 2,752 cases and 23 deaths yesterday.

Britons who moved over to Spain for a warmer climate were today pictured enjoying pints inside a cafe amid news the UK could be covered in a blanket of the white stuff this week

Benidorm is a town in the province of Alicante, otherwise known as the Valencian Community, and is popular with Britons looking for somewhere warm to retire or spend the winter

Benidorm is a town in the province of Alicante, otherwise known as the Valencian Community, and is popular with Britons looking for somewhere warm to retire or spend the winter

In the UK yesterday there were 41,385 coronavirus cases and 357 deaths reported. 

When dozens of counties were plunged into tiered restrictions earlier this month pubs and restaurants closed across the UK, but in Benidorm drinkers can still sit in groups of up to six until an 11pm closing time.

Benidorm is a town in the province of Alicante, otherwise known as the Valencian Community, and is popular with Britons looking for somewhere warm to retire or spend the winter.

Beaches are currently open, but groups of more than 15 are banned and informants patrol the sand to watch out for rule breakers.

One photograph showed an empty stretch of coastline as a small group of walkers headed along the seafront amid temperatures that are still a little chilly for sunbathing – at 58F (14C).

Meanwhile, temperatures plunged as low as 18F (-7.7C) near Inverness overnight, while nearby Aviemore saw 3.5in (9cm) of snow. Flurries will sweep across the South of the UK over the next 24 hours, with London set for snow from 7pm tomorrow. 

Ex-pats grinned as they guzzled drinks at a cafe in the Valencian Community - which reported 2,752 cases and 23 deaths yesterday

Ex-pats grinned as they guzzled drinks at a cafe in the Valencian Community – which reported 2,752 cases and 23 deaths yesterday

Drinking at the bar in Benidorm is banned, along with drinking in large groups in the street, as part of efforts to restrict the spread of coronavirus

Drinking at the bar in Benidorm is banned, along with drinking in large groups in the street, as part of efforts to restrict the spread of coronavirus

A group of ex-pats were pictured outside one Benidorm establishment with light jackets on as their families back home woke to a layer of snow

A group of ex-pats were pictured outside one Benidorm establishment with light jackets on as their families back home woke to a layer of snow

Bands of rain, sleet and snow have also been moving across the UK, bringing dangerous driving conditions, particularly around Manchester, Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Berkshire.

Shoppers vented their frustration online after orders were cancelled. Slots for redelivery were then not available for several weeks amid huge national demand due to people staying at home during the pandemic.

In Congleton, Cheshire, one Tesco customer told how she received a text saying her delivery was cancelled due to ‘severe weather conditions’ just as one of the supermarket’s vans drove past her house. 

Alice Harrison, 37, has since struggled to find another slot for her shielding parents, saying: ‘I thought it was quite premature, it was due at 2pm, and the roads were just slushy when I got the text, they’re completely melted now.’

Spain has been hard hit by the pandemic with nearly 1.9million people infected. Cases have fallen from their autumn peak but were rising again before the Christmas lull

Spain has been hard hit by the pandemic with nearly 1.9million people infected. Cases have fallen from their autumn peak but were rising again before the Christmas lull

One photograph showed an empty stretch of coastline as a small group of walkers headed along the seafront amid temperatures that are still a little chilly for sunbathing - at 58F (14C)

One photograph showed an empty stretch of coastline as a small group of walkers headed along the seafront amid temperatures that are still a little chilly for sunbathing – at 58F (14C)

A 72-year-old man is given his first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at a nursing home in Madrid on Sunday as Spain begins its Covid-19 vaccination programme

A 72-year-old man is given his first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at a nursing home in Madrid on Sunday as Spain begins its Covid-19 vaccination programme 

One Sainsbury’s customer wrote on social media that he and his wife, who are in their 70s and are unable to drive due to health reasons, had their delivery cancelled due to a ‘light scattering of snow’.

Age UK expressed concern about elderly people being cut off by the severe weather and urged the public to check on any vulnerable neighbours.  

A group of ex-pats were pictured outside one Benidorm establishment with light jackets on as their families back home woke to a layer of snow.

Drinking at the bar in Benidorm is banned, along with drinking in large groups in the street, as part of efforts to restrict the spread of coronavirus.

Restaurants, cafeterias, terraces and beach bars also have to keep their tables at least five feet apart.   

A woman carefully walks along a road under an umbrella this morning after heavy snowfall across the Sheffield area

A woman carefully walks along a road under an umbrella this morning after heavy snowfall across the Sheffield area

Snow covers the hills of the Peak District near Holmfirth this morning amid the festive flurries in recent days

Snow covers the hills of the Peak District near Holmfirth this morning amid the festive flurries in recent days

Meanwhile, it was reported Spain will set up a registry of people who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and share the list with other EU states.

While vaccines will not be mandatory, health minister Salvador Illa said on Monday a list would be drawn up of ‘those people who have been offered it and have simply rejected it’, after a government vaccination plan called for studying ‘possible reasons for reluctance’. 

Illa told La Sexta television that the registry would be shared with European countries ‘as is done with other treatments’, although employers or members of the public will not have access to it. 

Like most of the EU, Spain began delivering the Pfizer/BioNTech jab at the weekend and hopes to vaccinate nearly half of its 47million population by early summer.