British expats are battling to save their once idyllic town that has become overwhelmed by petty criminals and gangsters.
Orihuela Costa, near Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca, is loved for its stunning beaches, picturesque coves and friendly expat community – in fact, more than 12% of its population is made up of Brits.
But over the past year, an uptick in murders, break-ins and muggings has left residents living in a ‘climate of fear’, not least as a growing number of victims are expats.
Just last week, an Irishman was stabbed in the street in the early hours of Sunday morning.
And the region grabbed headlines in May when a 21-year-old Irish gangster was shot in the head in a gangland assassination attempt.
In November last year, a 15-year-old Spanish girl named Chloe had her throat slit in the middle of the street, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend and an accomplice.
It comes as the so-called ‘Backpack Burglar’ continues to terrorise British homes in Orihuela despite his face being clearly visible in doorbell camera footage handed to police.
He is just one of many criminals who have been filmed trying to break into cars and properties over the past few months.
The situation is not helped by a local police force that has shrunk over the past two years and which has 17 positions that remain unfilled, including a superintendent, 14 officers and two inspectors, reports local Spanish paper Informacion.
Orihuela Costa is governed by Orihuela City Council, which also governs Orihuela City, the capital of the municipality situated some 32km inland.
The latter is where the Spanish councillors live and is therefore prioritised when it comes to funding for vital services and resources, expats claim.
Priscilla Cromie, 52, from Belfast, has decided to take matters into her own hands by attempting to get Brits and other expats elected as councillors.
She is one of the founding members of the newest political party on the scene, named PIOC (Partido Independencia Orihuela Costa).
She told the Spanish Eye: ‘There’s just a severe lack of police presence, and a lot of drug gangs are operating in this area at the moment.
‘This area has actually had the highest number of murders in the shortest amount of time in Spain, it’s unbelievable.
‘When I first moved here decades ago it was a village, but now it’s a proper town and none of the services or resources have been upgraded to keep up with demand.
‘There’s no police stations after 2pm, so you have to go and make a report far away in another town. There’s no 24hr ambulances and no firefighters.
‘We don’t even have a library, there’s no help here at all and there’s practically no social services – they have one office but nothing gets done. I applied for my son’s disability badge 24 years ago and I’ve still not had it.’
Adding salt to the wound is the ‘extreme’ differences in services between Orihuela Costa, where most of the British expats live, and Orihuela City, where the Spanish councillors live.
Priscilla explained: ‘They’re spending €30m on a new museum in the city centre, and they have automated rubbish bins that open with the wave of a hand – meanwhile our bins are broken and don’t open while rubbish has been piling up in the street.’
Brits have begun protesting against the situation in recent weeks, with a demonstration against the bin problem bringing a crowd of 400 people at the end of May.
Priscilla said the council began filling in potholes the day after the protest and admitted the bin situation had ‘slightly improved’ since – but insists there is far more work to be done.
Allan Dick, 68, is the president of his complex in Orihuela Costa, named Villa San Jose 4.
He told the Spanish Eye: ‘When I speak to residents, there is a climate of fear that is growing and it is completely understandable.
‘They are seeing people creeping around complexes at night and peering into homes to see which are targets for robbing or squatting.
‘The criminals are increasingly brazen because they know they can get away with it due to the lack of police presence.
‘People are now thinking twice about moving to the area because they don’t know if they will feel safe.
‘Next year we are going to have to install lots more CCTV in the apartment complexes.’
He said that one British expat this week has decided to sell up after he returned home and discovered burglars had attempted to break in.
‘His daughters were terrified and he decided ‘that’s it, we’re packing up’, it’s a shame,’ Allan added.
It comes after retired firefighter David Homer was attacked while walking home in the Las Ramblas area of Orihuela Costa on the night of Friday, April 18.
He previously told the Spanish Eye how two men jumped out of a gap in a hedge and beat him with a wooden club before stabbing him in the head with a blade, leaving him with a huge gash that required stitches.
He said: ‘The first one hit me over the head with a wooden stick, and I hit him, but his mate slashed me with a knife, or a blade… which caused a lot of bleeding and I couldn’t see.
‘Then I was on the floor and he was kicking me, and they wanted my phone, and they wanted my wallet.’
David said it would take him ‘a while’ to recover mentally from the attack, which he believes was carried out by two Moroccan men.
He also said he was ‘disgusted’ after having to wait until Monday to report the crime, because the police station was closed over the weekend.
He claimed that while at the station, four other muggings were being reported.
He said: ‘How can this be happening when we are supposed to be living in Spain, enjoying ourselves in the sunshine, it’s terrible.
‘The services are terrible, rubbish is piling up, there’s weeds everywhere, there’s no police presence, squatters can go into anyone’s house and they’ve got more rights than anyone else.’
Roy Howitt, who lives in the La Florida neighbourhood, said there has been a ‘marked increase in crime over the last 11 months.’
An image from his doorbell camera taken in May shows a thug brandishing a knife while trying to break-in at three o’clock in the morning.
The retired estate agent said: ‘The last time a police car passed my house, as it is all caught on my cameras, was three months ago.
‘I have lived here 21 years and worked until three years ago as an estate agent and there has been a marked increase in crime over the last 11 months.
‘The robbers know that the police are under-resourced, they don’t patrol these areas.
‘I have a high wall with four cameras watching and have recently invested in personal attack alarms that we carry on key chains.’
Roy said the robbers have previously pulled wires to disable alarms and lights in the streets they target. He has now installed cameras that run on solar energy and immediately save footage to the cloud.
He added: ‘Because of the potential break in I have helped five neighbours install solar IP cameras.’
Briton Stephen Walley, 62, has lived in Orihuela Costa for 10 years and is the vice president of his complex.
His own CCTV camera has picked up masked men attempting to break into cars in the street.
He said: ‘The number of cameras has indeed gone up a lot. People are a little more wary these days.
‘The whole of Orihuela Costa is suffering. You have seen the state of the streets and rubbish everywhere.’
He said further outrage was sparked this year when their taxes for rubbish collection increased from €72 per year per household to €202.
