Drunk, naked yes, British students are back in Salou

Thousands of British students have descended on a Spanish seaside resort to take part in a drunken annual festival that has outraged the locals.

The youngsters have arrived at Saloufest - billed as "the biggest student festival in the world" - in the Costa Dorada resort.

About 5,000 reached north-east Spain yesterday and by midnight many of the 18- to 23-year-olds were already drunk.

Television news footage showed students swigging from beer bottles on the beach, dancing nude in the sea and stumbling through the streets half-naked or in fancy dress.

Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo wrote today: "Before midnight the scene was indescribable. Hundreds of students in a whirlwind that would shame any parent."

A report on Antena 3, a national television channel, said that the festival was about "partying, drunkenness and sex".

One male student told a reporter: "We're going to have a good time. We're going to drink a lot. It's going to be fantastic."

The British students' drunken antics in Salou last year made headlines across the world after numerous arrests. One woman reveller said she had been raped on the beach.

Organisers insist that it is a sporting event and deny promoting drunkenness and bad behaviour. There are 22 sporting events on offer during the day for the students.