Tenerife locals have erupted in anger over unruly British tourists, going as far as to go on hunger strike to complain about the plague of tourists.

Protesters who are campaigning for a more sustainable type of tourism have gone ahead with their threat outside a church in the city of La Laguna in Tenerife.

The group organising the protest, Canarias Se Agota, translated as "The Canary Islands Are Exhausted" is linked to several associations including ecologist groups.

Activists are demanding authorities halt two tourist projects, one involving the construction of a five-star hotel by one of Tenerife's last virgin beaches called La Tejita.

A spokesman for Canarias Se Agota Victor Martin said: "The hunger strike is indefinite and will continue until the two macro projects we're fighting against are stopped for ever and the regional agreement agrees in writing to sit down and talk to us about a tourist moratorium.

"A tragedy could occur and someone could die if the government don't listen."Martin won't be stopping eating himself, despite fronting the protest.

A spokesman for the organisation Salvar La Tejita which is aligned to Canarias Se Agota, added: "This hunger strike is designed to push for a change of social and economic model in the Canary Islands, which is fundamentally affected by tourism which the islands' economy is based around.

"It's not an anti-tourist protest, it's a protest aimed at reformulating the model that has led us to where we are today."