The tourist, Ingrid Kench, from East Yorkshire, said the sting felt like acid on her skin and left her in severe agony. The maths teacher was around 25 metres out swimming in the sea at Las Cucharas beach when she spotted the creatures. She said: “The sting was like an intense burning pain like acid on my skin.
“My first thought was what happens if I go into anaphylactic shock as I was out of my depth.
“I called to my son and said I have to get out quick I’ve been stung.
“It would have been easy to be stung on [the] face as many swimmers were swimming under the water.
“With the size of the blister that forms, any good swimmer would experience difficulty.
“I swim a mile four times a week at home so consider myself a strong swimmer, but the pain is so intense, panic starts to take over.”
According to the local tourist information on the island, they do not get jellyfish often but they arrive occasionally due to a swell or wind direction.
Ingrid said: “I only saw one jellyfish in the water, but I went to the lifeguards and they were at the waters’ edge and had already collected some more in a box.
“On New Year’s Day, lots more had washed up on the beach and near the swimming area.
SEE MORE: ‘ALIEN-like’ giant JELLYFISH discovered on New Zealand beach
“I had to make my own way back to the chemists.
“My son was brilliant keeping me calm and reassuring me.
“The hotel were brilliant at helping and giving good advice.”
Last July tourists were banned from the beach in Lanzarote after hundreds of deadly jellyfish washed up on the shore.
