Sun seekers jetting off to the Costa del Sol to work on their winter tan got a shock today after they touched down to find some its golden beaches covered in snow.

Fuengirola beach, a favourite winter getaway stop for British pensioners, had been be blanketed with a layer of crisp white frost.

This unexpected look was brought on as midday temperatures struggled to hit double figures.

Sun seekers jetting off to the Costa del Sol to work on their winter tan got a shock today after they touched down to find some its golden beaches covered in snow

Beach bars were deserted as many locals and tourists opted to stay indoors.

Retired shop worker Patricia Dugsdale flew to Malaga overnight to stay with her expat daughter Jacqui.

She said: 'I wasn't expecting to get my swimsuit out at this time of the year but I didn't think I'd be joking about making a snowman on the beach.'

Fuengirola beach (pictured), a favourite winter getaway stop for British pensioners, had been be blanketed with a layer of crisp white frost

Beach bars were deserted as many locals and tourists opted to stay indoors. Pictured: Snowfall across other parts of the country caused chaos over the weekend

HGV driver Robert Duggan added: 'My hotel manager says people were walking round in shorts and a T-shirt a few days ago so I obviously picked the wrong week to come.'

The dip in temperatures followed a week of sun and blue skies in the area.

Last Thursday holidaymakers in resorts like Torrevieja, a short drive south of Alicante, were pictured lapping up the sun as temperatures reached an unseasonal 23 degrees Celcius.

But after the snow came rain. A sudden dip in temperatures and one of the coldest nights of the year so far mean the Costa del Sol was hit by heavy rain and thunderstorms.

The sudden dip in temperature meant the Costa del Sol was hit by heavy rain and thunderstorms at a time of year when temperatures should have been balmy

Just yesterday the Spanish army said they had deployed to rescue drivers trapped in their cars by heavy snow fall

One local living on the beach front at Fuengirola took to Twitter after waking to see it under a blanket of white.

'When the Costa del Sol becomes the Costa del Snow,' they said.

Sources at the town hall confirmed the blanket of snow was in fact thick hail which had settled on the beach in temperatures of around five degrees Celcius.

And just yesterday emergency response units of the Spanish army said they were been deployed to rescue drivers trapped in their cars by heavy snowfall across large parts of the country.

Spanish media outlets report that hundreds of cars were stuck as snowfall in the north and central areas of the country disrupts travel on a holiday weekend, when families are returning from Epiphany celebrations on Friday and Saturday.

Sources at the town hall said the snow was in fact a thick layer of hail