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Sick posters mocking British balcony deaths put up by Barcelona anti-tourist campaigners

One of the posters in Barcelona (Twitter)
One of the posters in Barcelona (Twitter)

Sick posters urging tourists to jump their deaths from balconies have popped across Barcelona.

The posters, which claim that ‘balconing IS fun’, and ‘prevents gentrification’, have been spotted around the famous Spanish city.

It is the latest, and most extreme example, of a long-running campaign to drastically reduce the number of visitors heading to Barcelona.

‘Balconing’ is the practice of climbing between balconies or, if at a hotel, jumping into a swimming pool from a balcony.

Every year, several deaths of British tourists while ‘balconing’ are reported and this summer has proved no different.

Last month, Thomas Channon, 18, died after falling from a walkway at an apartment complex in Magaluf, Mallorca.

The teenager from South Wales was on his first ever holiday with friends.

Another youngster from Wales, Tom Hughes, 20, from Wrexham, also died in June following a fall.

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Tourists on Barcelona’s Las Ramblas (Rex)
Tourists on Barcelona’s Las Ramblas (Rex)

The Barcelona posters have prompted a backlash and a Twitter account – @BalconingisFun – has been suspended.

Others have taken to Twitter to say the posters were in bad taste.

Anti-tourist protests have taken place in Barcelona in recent weeks.

Masked demonstrators recently had to be cut free from a famous sculpture in the city’s iconic Park Guell.

They claim mass-tourism is creating misery for people who live in Barcelona, spoil the environment, cause housing problems and lead to the exploitation of cheap labour, while benefitting only a few.

Figures show that almost 35 million people visited the city in 2016, one of the top 20 city destinations for visitors worldwide.

While some protesters chained themselves to the Gaudi statue, other members of the group put up banners around the park and let off canisters of pink smoke.

Officers had to use bolt-cutters to free those who had tied chains around their legs and sculptures.

A spokesman said they chose the Park Guell and a Gaudi sculpture because of its iconic status.