Climate activists have filled in holes at 10 golf courses in a protest at the “waste of water” used to maintain the sport while severe drought grips the nation.

Members of Extinction Rebellion (XR) Spain “sabotaged” the golf courses in six areas of the country, including Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, Ibiza, Navarra and the Basque country.

The activists, who were also joined by other climate groups, used cement to fill in some of the holes while seedlings were planted in others.

The campaigners said golf during severe droughts was an “elitist leisure pursuit” and was a “luxury we cannot afford”.

In a statement, XR Spain said: “We sabotaged 10 golf courses throughout the Spanish territory.

“We act in ten golf courses in six Spanish provinces, with the aim of denouncing the waste of water that golf entails in the midst of one of the worst droughts in history.”

The group said maintaining golf courses in Spain uses more water than the cities of Barcelona and Madrid combined, claiming just one hole needs more than 100,000 litres a day.

In a social media video, XR Spain said only 0.6% of the nation’s population plays golf and the sport’s heavy use of water was continuing despite “one of the worst droughts that Europe has suffered”.

The action group, which has said it is also planning wider action against the use of private jets and large polluting cars by the “richest 1%”, added: “We cannot allow this kind of elitist leisure pursuit to continue.

“Spain is drying up and the rural world is suffering losses running into millions because of the lack of water for crops – all because of entertainment enjoyed by scarcely 0.6% of the population.

“Rich people and their leisure activities that gobble up essential resources are a luxury we cannot afford.”

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Spain has been in drought since the beginning of last year, with government officials warning climate change is increasing the frequency of “intense events and phenomena”.

Some reservoirs have declined to just 10% of capacity – while parts of the country have seen temperatures in recent times exceeding 47C (116.6F).

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Despite it not being the seasonal summer, temperatures in Spain in April reached a record-breaking 40C (104F).

According to the European Drought Observatory, more than a third of the continent is currently under a drought warning, with 10% experiencing severe drought.

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