The environmentalists’ union (Opok) voiced strong anger on Thursday after bathers set up umbrellas and tents on the protected Lara bay in Akamas, a day after images of the breach were made public.

The group called for strict enforcement of the law and questioned whether checks carried out by state services were indeed thorough enough.

Bathers flouted rules banning such activities from the beginning of June to the end of September, a period set aside to protect nesting and hatching sea turtles.

Within the Lara-Toxeftra protected area, umbrellas, sunbeds, tents and caravans are all banned during this time.

Visitors are also barred from staying on the beach at night from an hour before sunset and from fishing anywhere except from the shore.

“The images that are being made public are not consistent with an area that is under strict protection,” Opok remarked in a written statement.

The group said the breach raised “reasonable and serious questions” about how it happened despite earlier patrols, and how often checks are carried out.

Opok described Lara as one of the most important breeding sites in Cyprus and the Mediterranean for the green and the loggerhead turtle.

The area has been protected since 1989 under the fisheries law, forms part of the Natura 2000 network and has been listed since 2013 as a specially protected area of mediterranean importance.

“Its protection is not an optional political choice, nor can it depend on the sensitivity of visitors or be limited to the existence of information signs,” the statement said.

Opok called on both the fisheries and environment departments, to fully investigate the violations, remove any unauthorised structures and increase the presence of officers patrolling the area.

“Tolerance of violations creates an extremely dangerous precedent, not only for Lara and Akamas, but also for all protected areas in Cyprus,” the group warned, calling on the state to enforce the law equally, “without exceptions”.