Sardinia’s seasonal crimewave of sand thieves

Tourists can't resist a keepsake, despite a public information campaign and fines of up to 3,000

What irritated the local mayor most was the audacity of the tourists who tried to conceal their crime on the white-sanded Sinis beach along the west coast of Sardinia.

On a morning in late July, the visitors - a couple with a child, from mainland Italy - were spotted by a fellow beachgoer filling a plastic bottle with sand. The witness to the act immediately called the police.