LOCAL news

Two more Blue Flags presented to Nerja

Municipal representatives from all along the Andalucían coastline were in Nerja to collect their Blue Flags from the region’s tourism councillor. Luciano Alonso handed out 89 of the banners which are awarded to facilities which meet the organisers’ standards.

Sr Alonso was accompanied by José Ramón Sánchez, president of the Association of Consumer Environment Education (Adeac) which manages the Blue Flag programme in Spain. Amongst the municipalities receiving Blue Flags was Nerja itself whose mayor, José Alberto Armijo, and councillor for beaches, Jonathan Méndez, accepted the four flags for its Maro, Burriana, Torrecilla and Playazo beaches.

Sr Alonso said that the presentation ceremony would send a message to Andalucía, Spain, Europe and the world that the region has beaches in magnificent condition waiting for them to visit and enjoy.

Summer of scams as bogus
gas men
return

As well as attracting sun-seekers to the beach, the hot summer weather has seen the return of another seasonal visitor to the streets of Nerja: the bogus gas man. The town hall has issued another warning that these fraudsters have been knocking on doors and making threats.

Many reports have been received by the municipal consumers office that these individuals, who can produce fake identity cards and may appear to be very convincing, have been operating in the area. They tell householders that it is compulsory for all gas appliances to be inspected and that failure to grant admission could mean serious problems. If they get in and make repairs, which are probably unnecessary anyway, they then charge an extortionate fee.

The advice from the town hall is simply to refuse to let them into the house. Gas appliances must be checked every five years but it is up to the householder to contact the gas supplier who will then send a technician to the property by appointment. The genuine suppliers never cold-call in the way the bogus inspectors do.

There are two suppliers in Nerja: Garcia y Hijos in Calle Antonio Millon for the orange Repsol bottles, and Servigas in Calle Ruperto Anduez for the silver Cepsa bottles.

There have also been reports of individuals with clip-boards in the streets who tell their victims that a survey is being carried out in an effort to get close enough to remove wallets and valuables, while of course the “free” flowers pressed on holiday-makers by the gypsy ladies serve the same purpose. A new scam this year, however, is the supermarket shopper, with arms full of tins and packets, who asks the victim to get an item from the top shelf. While helpfully stretching up, the good Samaritan is relieved of whatever can be snatched.

Water privatised

The Partido Andalucista administration at Frigiliana town hall has pushed through plans to privatise the town’s water supply.

A tense town council meeting heard strong objections to the proposal from opposition PSOE and PP members. The 25-year contract now to be offered includes an initial payment of up to €800,000 and a canon of €0.15 per cubic metre of water sold.

Call to investigate
star project

There has been a call for an “immediate” investigation into the delay in completing work on the Plaza de la Constitución in Torrox. Socialist councillors at the town hall say the project has been delayed five times and is in chaos. Work began on renovating the square a little over a year ago and was scheduled to take six months.

The €1.1million project, which was due to end on December 15, 2009, but is still ongoing, is being financed by central government’s job creation initiative, known as Plan Zapatero. Local PSOE spokesman Francisco Muñoz said that completion had been promised for the town’s Migas Festival, always held just before Christmas, then for Easter, then before summer, “and we don’t know when”.

He said the councillor for infrastructure, Manuel Palomas, admitted in a recent town council meeting that, from the start, there had been a problem between the contractor and the technical director of the project which noticeably slowed its execution. He added that Sr Palomas had asked municipal technicians to urge Mayor Antonia Claros to rescind the contract but that this had not happened.

Sr Muñoz said that the project had been a disaster for local businesses and called for an immediate commission of investigation where all relevant documentation could be put on the table.

Work
starts

Preparations were underway last month for the start of work to restore the Águila aqueduct at Maro.

The contractors, Hermanos Campano S. L., began shipping materials to the foot of the 19th century structure which is listed as one of Andalucía’s important tourism sites. The €500,000 project is expected to take ten months to complete.

Caves
debt

Nerja town hall says the debt run up by the Nerja Caves Foundation is “very worrying”. The figure at the end of 2009 was revealed as almost €4.5million.

Councillor José Alberto Tomé of the controlling Partido Popular party said this included €3.7million of bank debt, plus almost €740,000 owed to suppliers, local groups and the town hall.

Vote on improvements

Torrox residents voted last month on a range of suggestions for improvements to the town. The town hall set aside part of its annual budget for projects suggested by local people and the choices now have to be made between around 120 proposals.

The ideas are in two groups, one for each of six districts and one for general items and every resident over 14 years old is entitled to vote for three proposals in each group. Torrox’s exercise in citizen participation began last autumn and has included a number of meetings at which various proposals for projects have been discussed.

It is the first time that the municipality has gone through such a process.

Towns wage war on motor homes : Blue Flags lost

Motor homes have become popular with tourists who want to cover large areas but retain all their personal comforts. However, they have brought considerable discomfort to several Costa resorts and now some town halls are on a war footing with them.

Despite the problem, in the whole of 2009, Costas only issued 20 fines along the entire coastline of Andalucía for parking or camping on beaches.

While motor home owners have protested with indignation to the “persecution” to which they are subjected, some town halls on the Costa Tropical have decided to act. In the last year, local police in Motril have carried out 32 “special operations” to monitor motor homes and move them on when necessary. Along with Almuñécar, the town has banned motor homes from parking on its paseos and in tourist zones.

Meanwhile, some lateral thinking in Salobreña has come up with a different solution. To avoid motor homes stopping in certain areas, the town changed the style of parking so that vehicles now have to be nose-in to the kerb. The offending vehicles are too long to fit into the bays.

Tourist
death

A Madrid man in his 50s died on the paseo marítimo de Ferrara in Torrox after tripping and striking his head on the ground.

The victim, who was on holiday in the town, was unable to be resuscitated by local police officers who were quickly on the scene. Witnesses said he had been playing sport at the time of the accident.

Nerja craxks down on over-charging taxis

Nerja town hall has launched an initiative to tackle taxi divers who overcharge.

Anyone who believes they have been overcharged must provide (a) a receipt (recibo) from the driver including the taxi number and the name of the driver, and (b) a note of the matriculation plate (number plate) of the vehicle. These should then be taken to the Foreigners Department at the town hall where a standard form can be completed. Complainants will be asked for the date, time, start and finish points of the journey, plus any stops in between.

The complete taxi tariff can be found here.

"Green"
pool

When the new swimming pool in Torrox opens in September, the water will be heated from a renewable energy source.

Sports councillor Teodoro Ruiz said that the boiler would be able to burn biomass fuel, a biological material derived from garbage, wood, waste, landfill gases, and alcohol fuels. Together with modern solar panels, the facility will be a “unique” environmental facility, he added.

Museum
move

Nerja’s new history museum has been incorporated into the Andaluz network of museums.

Culture councillor Manuel Garcia explained that this opens the way to grants and other economic support for the project which is now in its final construction phase. The museum’s management, the Nerja Caves Foundation, will be able to apply for such help once the museum opens its doors next spring.

Assault
charge

A man was charged with assaulting a woman in her Torrox home.

She told police she invited him home after meeting socially, but he tried to strangle her and smothered her with a blanket until she lost consciousness. When she recovered, her cash had gone and he had locked her in the house, requiring the fire brigade to be called to rescue her.

Fall in Frigiliana

The Guardia Civil are investigating an incident in Frigiliana when a man of around 30 was badly injured after falling from a height of around seven metres. He was rushed to hospital in Málaga with “very serious” back injuries.

Officers say he had been talking with family friends just before the accident in Calle Rafael Alberti.

Thousands more homes for Nerja

estate.

Councillor Quintero said the document would seek approval from various committees before being finalised later last month.

More free parking

Torrox town hall has generated 1,500 free open-air parking spaces to cope with the influx of summer visitors.

Sites were being prepared last month in seven locations including Conejito, Hotel Riu Ferrara, El Morche and the Manzano arroyo. The town hall is also about to put on sale around 200 parking bays in the new El Pontil underground car park.

Nerja ensures disadvantaged elderly are well fed

Nerja’s social services department has launched an initiative to ensure that older, disadvantaged residents remain properly fed during the economic downturn. The project has a budget of €30,000 and has been funded by central government’s job creation programme, known as Plan Zapatero.

The plan can benefit those over 65 years of age who live alone or with a dependent, although priority is being given to those over 80 and living on their own. Eight local people are already benefitting from the service which provides them with well-balanced meals for lunch and dinner which are distributed twice a week from a central kitchen.

To be eligible, individuals must be registered in the municipality and exhibit some motor or sensory problem which makes preparing food a problem. Anyone interested should contact the Social Services office at Nerja town hall.

Ecologists and residents in Nerja have again complained about the appearance of sewage at the mouth of the Chillar river. They say that the waste water appeared during July and is believed to come from nearby blocks of flats.

Popular
posts

Nerja town hall has received almost 500 applications for four jobs as officers in its local police force.

A short list of candidates who will have to undergo physical and theory tests will be published. When the new officers are finally recruited, the local force will have an establishment of 48.

Meanwhile, pposition councillors in Torrox have called for a greater police presence in the town. The PSOE’s Francisco Muñoz said that there had been numerous complaints about noise, illegal use of public areas and vandalism. He said the problem is making Torrox’s tourism image worse every day.

VÉLEZ news

Vélez makes plans for "green corridor" to Zaffaraya

A hospital users group has called for strict time and number controls on visitors to patients in Vélez-Málaga hospital. The collective says it has received numerous complaints that the present situation does not guarantee the rest and privacy of patients and interrupts the work of staff.

Only three visitors per patient at any time should be permitted, while patients should be given three visitor passes when admitted, says the group. Visitors should enter the hospital only by the main entrance where their accreditation should be checked, and after 9.30pm, the doors should be locked, making the A&E unit the only access into the hospital. Another option, says UASAX, is to control visitors with bar-coded passes.

Torre del Mar paseo project gets green light

The project to upgrade the paseo marítimo in Torre del Mar will begin this year. Urbanisation councillor Salvador Marín said that the Environment Ministry had given approval to the plans with a budget of almost €2.6million.

He said the town hall in Vélez-Málaga had already started work on developing the basic project and that it is likely to be licenced by the end of this summer. In 2008, it was agreed that over €2million of the cost would come from the municipality’s tourism infrastructure modernisation fund.

The present paseo is 24 years old and, said Sr Marín, much of it has reached the end of its useful life. Construction of its successor will include new lighting and street furniture, a cycle lane and a computer-controlled irrigation system for garden areas which will use recycled water.

New performing arts centre

Ambitious plans for a music and performing arts centre have been announced by Vélez-Málaga town hall. The facility will be used for presentations of music, theatre and dance, as well as becoming the base for arts groups in the municipality.

Education councillor Eduardo Hernández said that the new centre is to be built on a 2,000 sq m site at La Golondrina. The cost of €1.8million is to be met from the State Employment Fund. Half the money will be spent on the first phase of the project which will include the construction of a 1,000 square metre building to house two rehearsal rooms and 18 classrooms. Four more buildings will be added later including one dedicated to dance, an indoor auditorium with audition and recording facilities, a library and a cafeteria.

There will also be an openair auditorium with seating for 3,000 spectators. The main building will be shared by the municipal music and dance schools and will be available to other local groups for staging their events. It will also have storage and administrative areas.

Marina promise

More news on Caleta de Vélez marina has been promised soon by the Junta de Andalucía.

The regional government was recently accused of “forgetting” the port by excluding it from its projects for the next 12 months. However, Public Works delegate Enrique Benítez said the Junta would meet its promise to expand the marina and predicted a brilliant future for it.

Centre opposed

A residents’ group in Vélez-Málaga is opposing the town’s planned conference centre. They argue that the cost of €3.3million will increase the municipality’s already large debt while there are other necessities on which the money could be spent.

Fernando Mata of the Association of Vélez Residents added that the Málaga centre is already established and is closer to the airport. Work on the conference centre is likely to start in September. Mayor Salomé Arroyo said that the project is almost ready to be licenced.

The new facility is to be built on a 34,000 sq m site close to the A-7 autovía which presently forms part of the town’s fairground.

Mother's thanks

The mother of a ten-year-old boy, rescued from drowning off Torre del Mar, has publicly thanked the people who came to his help.

She visited Vélez-Málaga town hall to meet mayor María Salomé Arroyo and her son’s three rescuers. María Teresa Martínez said she was profoundly grateful to those who had battled against heavy waves to get him out of the water.

Wood
blaze

An industrial unit in Vélez-Málaga was seriously damaged by fire. Three fire units attended the blaze which broke out shortly after 4am in a property used for storing wood.

No-one was injured but while the outbreak caused major damage to the property, it was prevented from spreading to neighbouring units.

Dogs
rescued

Lagos was due to be connected to the Vélez-Málaga sewage system last month.

The town hall has invested €250,000 in a new pipeline along the route of the N-340 coast road which completes the municipality’s eastern sanitation network. Lagos beach has long been regarded as a black spot by environmentalists because of the poor quality of its sea water.

MÁLAGA news

Teenage use of drink and drugs "worrying"

A study published by Málaga University suggests that youngsters begin experimenting with drugs and alcohol at ever-younger ages. The authors of the study describe their findings as “worrying”.

The groundwork was carried out by a group of professors who questioned students in a number of schools and colleges across the province. They found that alcohol and tobacco are most widespread in their use, followed by cannabis.

Just over 40 per cent of the 12 to 18-year-olds admitted using alcohol while 30 per cent confirmed that they smoke. Fewer than nine per cent said they use cannabis. Other drugs such as cocaine and heroin presented a much lower number of users, although some 12-year-olds confessed to having tried them.

It appears that girls drink and smoke more than boys, and twice as many use tranquilisers to aid sleep. The researchers said that the adolescents wanted to feel like adults, and raised concerns about the higher incidence of drinking and smoking amongst girls. They believe that an individual’s level of emotional intelligence plays a part in his or her level of drug and alcohol intake, with those of higher emotional intelligence turning to other solutions when under stress.

Priest knifed
in morning attack

A 42-year-old man has been arrested following the stabbing of an 83-year-old priest in a Málaga car park. The victim was taken to Carlos Haya Hospital in the city for treatment for three knife wounds to his neck and side.

The attack took place at 9am when the retired priest, Francisco Pineda, drove into the common parking area beneath the apartment block where he lives in La Malagueta district. As he got out of his car, he is reported to have been approached by the suspect who had been hiding behind a concrete pillar and, after exchanging a few words, was stabbed.

A passer-by saw a man covered in blood running out of the car park and, helped by workers from nearby shops, managed to restrain him until a local police unit was on the scene. A doctor and nurse who were also passing-by attended to the priest until an ambulance arrived.

Don Francisco, who is still active in a parish at Benajarafe and Chilches in Vélez-Málaga, was described as being in a stable condition in hospital. He told police that he had known his attacker, who is reported to have psychiatric problems, for about two weeks. The man had claimed to be a former pupil of the priest when they met in the street by chance and since then had bombarded the priest with phone calls at all times of day, as well as sending threatening letters.

"Fairer"
radar

A tunnel on the A-7 autovía through Málaga is to trial a ‘fairer’ speed radar system.

Interior Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba confirmed that it would test the device which calculates velocity over a stretch of carriageway, rather than taking a snapshot at a single point. He defended its placement in a tunnel saying that this was an important place to control speeding strictly.

Kids
denounce mum

Local police in Málaga were stunned when three children marched into their offices, hand in hand, to denounce their mother. The 11-year-old girl in the group told officers she had been assaulted that day and the day before.

Supported by her 13- and nine-year-old siblings, she alleged that her mother had struck her on the shoulder after a breakage while she was playing with her sister the day before. She also claimed that a second assault had occurred earlier that day in a supermarket after her mother asked her to carry some bags of shopping. When she complained the carriers were too heavy, she alleged her mother threw a packet of rice which struck her on the chest.

After interviewing the children, the 11- year-old was taken to the Hospital Materno Infantil for a medical examination. Police said doctors reported bruising and scratching consistent with possible ill-treatment.

The mother, a 31-year-old Spanish citizen, was detained the same day on suspicion of domestic maltreatment. She was later charged and released, while the children were put in the care of a grandparent.

The family, which includes four siblings, one boy and three girls, has been under the protection of the region’s social services department for the last five years. In May, the woman’s estranged husband denounced her for allegedly leaving one of their daughters asleep in a car until 5.30am while drinking in a local bar.

Worst
offender

A 20-year-old unnamed Málaga man was revealed as Spain’s worst traffic offender since the driving licence penalty points system was introduced in July 2006.

Tráfico said he had received 130 sanctions, mostly for riding a motorcycle without wearing the obligatory safety helmet. The authority said that in its first four years, the system removed 12.9 million points from licences of 3.1 million drivers.

Passenger 1,000,000
sails in

The port of Málaga has welcomed its one millionth cruise liner passenger.

The lucky family was given a VIP reception by the city when they stepped ashore last month. Charlotte and John Hansen and their eight-year-old son Oliver sailed into Málaga on board Royal Caribbean’s liner Adventure of the Seas after a seven-day cruise around Sardinia, Italy, Corsica and Mallorca.

Home
alone

A Málaga woman was arrested for allegedly leaving her four-year-old child home alone. A neighbour heard crying and established the boy was locked in the house on his own before calling police who managed to rescue him.

The 42-year-old mother, who was arrested on a similar charge in January, was later detained while the child was put in the care of his father.

New cycle laws

Commuters in Málaga who use bicycles or roller-skates must use cycle lanes and travel at no more than ten kilometres per hour.

New local legislation introduces fines of €60 for speeding and €500 if the rider is found to be under the influence of drink or drugs. The changes are amongst amendments to road safety laws likely to become effective in November.

Culture candidate

Málaga officially became a candidate to be named European Culture Capital in 2016 last month.

The application papers were delivered to the offices of the Ministry of Culture in the city by Juan López Cohard, president of the foundation established to oversee the submission. In the next step, the team will present their case to a panel in Madrid in late September.

Police stop suicide

Three local police officers were injured in Málaga as they tried to prevent a 22- year-old man jumping from the fourth floor of a building. The first grabbed his legs while the second officer held onto his colleague and the third managed to pull the youth back from the edge.

He was taken to hospital while the officers received treatment for minor injuries.

New airport bus

A new bus service between Málaga airport and the city centre has been started to augment the existing Line 19.

The Line A route takes 30 minutes, has nine stops and runs from 6.25am until midnight with a flat fare of €2. The route of Line 19 has been amended to take in a stop at the recently renovated bus station by the city’s port.

NATIONAL news

New abortion law àppealed

Spain’s new laws on abortion were due to become effective last month. However, the Constitutional Court agreed to hear an appeal against the legislation which argues that it is unconstitutional.

The new law was approved by Parliament last February and allows abortions to take place without any restrictions within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy and up to 22 weeks if the mother or baby is at risk. It also allows girls of 16 and 17 to have an abortion without parental permission.

Existing legislation dating from 1985 decriminalised the practice but threatened prison sentences for women who fell outside stricter limits of 12 weeks in the case of rape and 22 weeks if the foetus was found to be deformed.

The Constitutional Court gave the new law’s opponents three days to put their case. The move followed the filing of a lawsuit by the opposition Partido Popular and the Navarra regional government which claimed that the legislation is unconstitutional because it, “violates the balance between the rights of the mother and the rights of the unborn child” and that allowing a minor to have an abortion without parental consent violates the rights of her parents. The PP also makes reference to a 1985 ruling by the Constitutional Court which states that abortion cannot take precedence over the right to life of unborn children, except in certain cases such as rape and incest.

However, Equality Minister Bibiana Aido said she had, “no doubt” that the new law was, “completely constitutional” and would become effective last month.

Amendments watering-down the text were approved. One now requires 16- and 17-year-olds to inform their parents if they want an abortion - except in cases where they face, “a clear risk of family violence, threats, pressure or mistreatment” - and to be able to prove to a doctor that they have complied with this.

Another states that, in a case of alleged serious family conflict, the doctor must ask the woman to confirm in writing that the allegations are unfounded and can demand that she undergoes “a psychiatric, psychological or professional report”.

However, the opposition Partido Popular chose to defy the new law by instructing regions which it controls to decide for themselves whether to comply with it. Murcia and Navarra became the first to confirm they would not apply the legislation with Murcia’s president Ramón Luis Valcárcel claiming that, at present, there are, “no reasons to follow the law”.

Hundreds of protestors gathered outside the Constitutional Court in Madrid urging it to suspend the new law which has also been strongly opposed by the Roman Catholic Church. Demonstrators heard claims that 50 per cent of people in Spain are against the changes while a 60 metre long banner, lifted by yellow helium-filled balloons, bore the text of article 15 of the Spanish Constitution: “Everyone has the right to life.”

Brit tourists urged to do holiday homework

British tourists have been advised to do their homework before travelling abroad. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London says a large number of the incidents reported by holiday-makers could have been prevented by better preparation.

The annual British Behaviour Abroad report published by the FCO says that, while stolen passports are the most commonly reported problem, many incidents which involved drink and drugs, medical problems or the lack of insurance cover need not have arisen. The statistics come from FCO offices worldwide and cover the 12 months to March 2010.

Spain, which received about 13.3 million UK tourists over the year, was the country where most incidents were reported. Over 5,000 people here called for help on a variety of issues including 179 drug-related arrests, 831 hospitalisations, 25 rapes and 20 sexual assaults. In addition, help was given in the cases of 6,618 lost or stolen passports, almost a quarter of the total worldwide.

The FCO recommends that two copies are made of every passport with one given to friends or family at home, and the other carried separately from the original while abroad. If the passport is lost or stolen, the incident must be reported to a local police station and a police report taken to the nearest Consulate. It reminds travellers that it may take a day or two to produce the replacement document and that there is a charge.

The British Consul in Málaga, Steve Jones, said that the consulates along the Spanish costas are supplying between 70 and 80 emergency travel documents every month. He said that people are already very familiar with much of Spain but urged UK holidaymakers to check on the FCO’s website before leaving home.

Unemployment down as inflation
eases

Unemployment in Spain fell below the four million mark in June, over two per cent down on May.

Andalucía saw only a 0.2 per cent reduction but it was the fourth consecutive month during which the region’s figure has fallen. However, the national total of 3.99 million unemployed was 11.7 per cent more than in June 2009 and is over twice the EU average.

Meanwhile, inflation slowed during June, according to figures from the National Statistics Institute. The consumer price index was up 1.5 per cent, compared with June 2009, following a rise of 1.8 the previous month, and was up 0.2 per cent on May. The Institute attributed the deceleration to lower energy price rises and a drop in the price of food.

Cup win
boosts
tourism -
but Paul
stays put

Spain’s success in the World Cup appears to have boosted tourism.

The Scottish travel website Skyscanner reported a significant increase in people looking for low-cost flights to the country since the final on July 11. Spain shot to the top of the site’s rankings of the number of searches made by users.

Meanwhile, Paul, the psychic octopus which predicted Spain’s victory, is staying in Germany. A bid from Madrid Zoo to bring him to Spain was rejected as was a request from the town of O Carballino in Galicia for him to attend their sea food festival. The UK also wants Paul, claiming he was born at a Sea Life Centre in Dorset.

Burqa
ban

In a surprise result in Parliament, Deputies voted by 131 to 129 to outlaw any garment or headgear which prevents identification in public places, including the street.

The motion had been raised by the opposition Partido Popular and won the support of the Catalan and Basque nationalist parties. The ban will include the burqa and niqab worn by some Muslim women.
 

House sales increase

The planned merger between Iberia and British Airways has been approved. Takeoff is expected in the autumn.

The EU regulator said the merger would not pose risks to competing airlines and concluded that the deal would not, “significantly impede effective competition on any of the markets concerned”. Iberia and BA welcomed the news and said the merger would be completed by the end of this year.

Brussels also gave the go-ahead to a separate proposal in which BA and Iberia would work with American Airlines to offer transatlantic flights jointly, which has subsequently been approved by US authorities.

ETA arrest

A 40-year-old man wanted in Spain in connection with a string of terrorist attacks was arrested in Northern Ireland.

Fermin Vila Michelena was allegedly a member of the ETA cell which exploded four car bombs in Spain during 2001, one of which killed a policeman and an army officer. Madrid is expected to ask for his extradition to face the charges.

Vuvuzels banned
as bull runs start

Sales of vuvuzelas, the deafening plastic trumpets heard during the World Cup, were banned from Pamplona’s annual San Fermines Fiestas last month. The city’s mayor said they would produce “unpleasant and dangerous noise”.

There were over 500 music, cultural and other events scheduled for the nine-day festival, including the famous running of the bulls every morning at 7.15am.  A 20-year-old British man was taken to hospital in Pamplona after being seriously gored in the thigh on the third morning of the bull runs. Another Briton aged 39 and a 46-year-old Spanish man were also slightly injured.

The previous morning, a 21-year-old Spaniard was gored in the chest and an Irishman aged 43 received injuries to his leg.

Three Britons were amongst five people arrested in Pamplona for allegedly bringing hashish from Morocco to sell during the fair. Two men in their 40s were jailed while a woman of 38 was charged and released. The operation, in which two Navarra men were also detained, saw drugs, precision scales and €2,000 in cash confiscated.

Fall from
7th floor

A 17-year-old British girl is seriously ill in hospital on Majorca after falling from the seventh floor of an apartment block.

Grace Ford from Lancashire, on holiday with friends after completing their Alevel exams, is being treated for multiple injuries in a Magaluf hospital. An 18-year-old boy was detained for failing to report the accident but was later released.

Car sales down

New car sales in the first half of July dropped alarmingly. The sector said that registrations had dropped by 11 per cent after increasing over the previous 11 months.

The downturn is being attributed to the end of the government’s grants for scrapping old vehicles and the rise of two per cent in the IVA rate which came in on July 1.