Their wives are among witnesses who have been summoned to appear before the district court in the German town of Auerbach, Saxony next month.

According to one of the women, she was trying to reserve sunbeds for herself and her husband when the other woman suddenly flung her handbag onto one of them.

The two men, one 70 and the other in his 40s, then fought over the sunbeds, with the older man allegedly suffering an injury to his lower arm.

The 70-year-old is now seeking €4,200 in compensation for the injury and his “loss of holiday pleasure”, Bild reports.