I visited Spanish city ruined by floods - 1 thing stood out and it's bad news for Brits

Last year, the and the neighbouring provinces, killing at least 230 people. Towns were covered in mud and debris, bridges were destroyed, cars were piled on top of each other and road and rail lines submerged.

Towns and villages such as Sedavi, Paiporta and Horno de Alcedo were some of the worst hit, with and bringing with it debris and destruction. I visited Valencia seven months after the flooding to see how the province's capital city had recovered.

The first thing to hit me was how busy the city was, with tourists and locals shoulder to shoulder. Having arrived during a festival, the streets were full of people as the parade moved at a glacial pace through the city to music and clapping from the crowds.

The bars were full, the restaurants were teeming with life, the beaches were packed with locals playing sport, and the hotels were booked up, reflected by the in-demand prices.

Admittedly, it may not reflect an accurate picture as I had chosen to visit during Valencia's major religious festival, Our Lady Of The Forsaken (Virgen de los Desamparados), which celebrates the city's patron saint.

However, the one thing that really struck me was how just how much graffiti lined the streets, which stared back at me after just a few minutes of strolling around the city.

Protestors had even gone to the effort of writing in English to warn "tourists go home", while "we used to be a neighbourhood" was sprayed in Spanish.

Valencia is one of many cities to have participated in calling for housing regulation, given that huge portions of the stock have been overtaken by holiday lets, which locals say makes housing unaffordable and removes a sense of community.

There are also complaints that infrastructure cannot cope with the surge in numbers over the summer months, with the knock on environmental impact seen in some regions which complain of overwhelmed sewage systems.

While I had exceptionally positive experiences with locals there, including one who decided to show me around various churches, I couldn't help wondering what the reception would have been like if I didn't speak Spanish.

I felt acutely aware of speaking English with my travel companion in the streets while graffiti glared at us from the walls.

I empathise with the calls for tourist regulation after seeing just how busy the streets were with visitors, including myself, but quite honestly, and quite probably to the delight of some locals, the signs made me feel uncomfortable enough to take heed and not want to return.