Benidorm, the mass-market Spanish seaside resort, has been the butt of British jokes for so long that its desire to apply to Unesco for world heritage status has generated a predictable mix of astonishment and mockery. What do 1960s tower blocks on the Costa Blanca have in common with the Great Barrier Reef or the pyramids of Giza?

It was a gift to cynical humour that Benidorm unveiled a draconian set of by-laws banning sex and drink on the beach just as the Unesco idea was floated.