British tourists have been warned to steer clear of ‘muggers alley’ in Benidorm after video emerged of pickpockets targeting men.
Clips shared online show at least three women stopping men while walking down an alleyway off Calle Gerona, near the Hotels Ambassador, Rosa Mar and Magic Villa.
A Brit who has lived in Benidorm for decades told the Spanish Eye: ‘This has been going on for a long time, it’s outside the Magic Villa de Benidorm and right next to the local tourist police station, which is closed in the evening.’
In the footage, one woman is seen standing right in front of a man with her arms out in a bid to stop him in his tracks.
The three women then grab him by his shirt as he walks away. A young British couple were filming the incident from their hotel balcony.
They said they spent several nights throwing water down on the alleged criminals while shouting warnings to tourists walking by.
They claimed around five or six pickpockets ‘come out every night at around 9pm’ and work what they called ‘muggers alley’.
They said: ‘If you are around the Ambassador, Rosa mar, Magic Villa, be very careful..
‘Me and my partner have tried to tell a few people going past and thankfully we have succeeded…
‘They are going for vulnerable old men and also drunk or sober men of any age who are alone…
‘Last night I noticed they also went for a few men that were in (groups of) twos or threes and would try to separate them.
‘We witnessed them try to shake a man’s wedding ring and watch off his hand a few days ago… thankfully a group of lovely young men prevented that from happening by walking with him and shouting something which made them stop!’
The Brit warned anyone who finds themselves walking alone at night to ‘keep your hands in your pockets and protect your belongings’, advising any prospective tourists to ‘do their research’.
She added: ‘It’s so awful to see them take advantage of men and touch them without their consent! They keep getting away with it as they constantly change clothes, we’ve been watching every night since we’ve arrived and we’ve noticed they’ll all take it in turns to change clothes and when they go to mug someone usually it’ll be one or two girls and they’ll try to stroke your arm or flirt with you (sometimes will pull their boobs out).
‘Then they’ll have all the other girls a bit further behind so you have more of a slim chance to escape, but I’ve seen a few men run straight past as they knew what they were trying to do!’
The Spanish Eye has contacted the Policia Nacional for comment.
