Towel covered body lies on the sand as beach goers barely bat an eyelid

A body, covered by towels, lies under an umbrella while holidaymakers carry on sunbathing.

At first glance these photos seem like any other happy beach scene. Sunbathers bask in the heat, chatting to friends, applying sunlotion and going for a dip in the sea.

However, just yards away from these cheerful beachgoers the body of a drowned man lies wrapped in towels. A large parasol shields the body from one half of the beach but even those who have a good view seem unconcerned. They continue to go about their business, apparently unmoved by the grisly sight which occupies Mappatella beach in Naples with them.

Last year Italy was left shocked after photographs emerged of beach-goers happily sunbathing near the dead bodies of two Gypsy girls on another beach in Naples. At the time the images triggered harsh criticism from Archbishop of the city, Crescenzio Sepe.