Jellyfish attack tourists

Hundreds of holidaymakers have been stung by jellyfish whilst swimming in Spain after an army of jellyfish descended on the Costa Blanca attacking at least 250 people.

Borja Isturi, from the Jellyfish collection department of San Sebastian City Hall, said: "We have never seen as many jellyfish as this year."

According to Itn.Co.Uk, officials have blamed strong sea currents for pulling the jellyfish in and then calm seas that meant they stayed around the coast for days.

The beach manager of Elche beach, Antonio Tari, said that the jellyfish tentacles can latch on to a person's skin making the sting even more painful.

"The tentacles are attached to the skin and if you touch it and try to rub or scrub it, it makes it worse," said Tari.

The Portuguese Man of War - also know as bluebottles - are purple-blue in colour and they trail stinging tentacles up to 22 metres long. Their sting is extremely painful, and causes skin burns and swelling. For humans, the Man of War sting, while extremely painful, is rarely deadly.