A British expat has sounded the alarm after being targeted by professional pickpockets on the Costa del Sol.
John Ogden-Starkel, 57, was walking on Avenida Andalucia in Estepona on Saturday when he fell prey to so-called ‘hugger muggers’.
The Brit told the Spanish Eye how he was walking across a pedestrian crossing when a woman fell onto him and put her arms around his neck to seemingly break her fall.
John explained: ‘I said sorry to her, she said ‘English?’, ‘on holiday?’, I said that I lived here and we went our separate ways.’
It wasn’t until Sunday morning that John realised his two gold chains, which he wore around his neck constantly, were gone.
‘The chains and cross I got for my 18th and 21st birthdays from my parents,’ added Jon, ‘they’re irreplacable.’
John will be going to the police to make a full denuncia (police report) on Tuesday, but holds little hope of recuperating the jewellery.
‘Our neighbour is from the Policia Nacional and said the chains and cross will probably have been sent out of the country the same day,’ he said.
He added: ‘I have lived in Estepona for five years and this is the first time anything like this has happened to me.
‘I have heard of various similar situations on Facebook, but you never think you will fall for it yourself.
‘We decided six months ago to leave Estepona as it has become so busy and expensive. This is the final straw.’
It comes after several complaints of pickpockets working in Estepona this year.
In April, Susan Parker became the latest victim of the so-called ‘bird poo scam’ during a holiday in the town.
The Brit was walking with her husband when they suddenly felt something splash onto their clothes.
‘We thought a bird had pood on us,’ recalled Susan.
‘A small south Asian man, possibly Chinese, with a white hat and rucksack came to our aid wiping us down with tissues and a bottle of water.
‘We only realised he’d stolen my purse out of my bag when BOI rang about a suspicious transaction.
‘He obviously sprayed us… and then rushed to our aid to rob us… we have frozen our cards but he’d used them a number of times with contactless in Carrefour, €200 in total, and took our driving licences.’
Fellow victims shared a photo of the alleged fraudster on an Estepona Facebook forum, claiming they had also fallen prey to the con.
Read more Costa del Crime news at the Spanish Eye.
