Villa Rentals Spain

According to locals in Benidorm on the Spanish Costa Blanca , the town council needs to start doing something to spruce up the Armanello zone of the town.

They want dozens of properties to be demolished in order to force out what they describe as ” an army of criminals “. They are living in properties which have been abandoned and the whole area is being affected badly according to local businessmen. There are it appears , constant acts of robbery.

Recently a local campsite was targeted and masses of things were stolen  and last week a British couple was attacked and robbed.

The council is aware of the problem and there are regular National Police patrols to deter drug trafficking and crime but it seems to go on just the same.

Enrique Ortiz , the well known developer owns the properties in the zone and they feel that he ought to have demolished the properties years ago.

Thieves are able to commit crimes in Benidorm and then flee back to the Armanello district , knowing that the police are highly unlikely to follow them.

The local businessmen want the council to demolish the properties and then pass on the costs to Sr Ortiz. Already there are long term legal cases going on between the two that have yet to be resolved.

Children from L ´Arabi school in Alfaz del Pi on the Spanish Costa Blanca , have been learning about palm trees. They have been training as gardeners with the aim of qualifying in gardening skills , by the end of the course.

They are following theory as well as practical classes at nearby allotments and they have also travelled to Elche near Alicante to go to the Palmeras Museum , the Huerto del Cura palm tree forest and also the local agricultural centre.

While all of this is going on the Agenda 21 environmental group has begun to fumigate the palm trees in Alfaz del Pi.There are over 200 Canary palms in the town and the treatment consists of fumigating the palms by an injection directly into the trunk.It acts as a 90 day vaccine protection. This is a chemical which will kill the palm weevil but is non-toxic to pets and humans.

Last Sunday in Catral , near Alicante on the Spanish Costa Blanca an Indian man fatally stabbed his flat mate. The man has been arrested and charged.

It appears that an argument broke out between the two at a flat in Calle Alicante in Catral. The argument wakened neighbours at 4am when there was loud banging and shouting.

The argument developed into a fight , whereupon one of the men was stabbed. A third person who was living in the flat went to the assistance of the injured man and took him to hospital.The 28 year old died shortly after he was admitted.

The man who killed him was later arrested at the flat by the police. The dead man worked at an Indian restaurant in Catral. An investigation into his death has now begun.

Tenerife is one of the Spanish Canary Islands and very popular with British holiday makers.

Last week a flight from Manchester to Tenerife was given a priority landing because two drunken passengers told cabin crew that they had a bomb in their hand luggage.

Naturally the cabin crew had to take the matter seriously and the plane was given priority to land at the south airport.The Thomas Cook plane landed at about 1pm.

The 200 passengers were evacuated from the plane and then a thorough search of the plane was made. They failed to find any explosive devices and the whole thing was a sick joke.The two men were taken into custody.

When are airlines going to stop serving alcoholic drinks on board aircraft and when are they going to stop allowing people who have already had too much to drink , on board. Sometimes these airlines get the behaviour they deserve and it is all down to wanting the money from selling alcohol.

Just over a week ago a car ploughed into three mopeds in the centre of Benidorm on the Spanish Costa Blanca , and four people were injured.

There was a 35 year old woman driving the car and she lost control of the vehicle as she drove down Calle Austria towards the Aiguera bridge at about 4pm in the afternoon.

The three mopeds had stopped at traffic lights and she ploughed into them at the junction with Avenida Puchades. Three men and a woman suffered injuries.One had to be taken to the nearby Clinica Benidorm while the others were transferred to Villajoyosa hospital by ambulance for treatment. The female driver was tested for alcohol and the test was negative.

Last Sunday a British woman of 78 died while walking on the Canary Islands in Spain. She was out walking with friends on Gran Canaria when she suffered a heart attack which they thing was brought on by heatstroke.

The temperature on that day in that particular place  , was 37 degrees. They were walking along a gully which may have intensified the heat. The group made several emergency calls for help. Once the emergency services arrived they attempted to revive the lady and she was announced dead at the scene.

A 66 year old woman in the group also collapsed but they were able to revive her and take her to hospital by helicopter.She was in a serious condition , again because of the heat. A third member of the party , a 65 year old man was also taken to hospital in the helicopter , with breathing problems.

The other four walkers , all in their 60´s were treated on the spot for heatstroke. It has been reported that a UK tour operator organised the walk , even though there were heatwave warnings in place.

Another fatal accident took place on the same day on Gran Canaria when a 73 year old British man fell down a ravine and died.

Last weekend in Barcelona on the Spanish Costa Brava , thirty one people were injured when a fire broke out at the circuit.

There was an explosion inside the Formula One Williams Team garage where about 200 people were celebrating the victory of the race by the Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado.

One person was taken to a Barcelona hospital with serious burns and the others were treated on the spot for smoke inhalation and minor injuries.The man who was most seriously injured was a mechanic who was at the back of the garage.

It only took 20 minutes to get the fire under control as there were mechanics and fire fighters on the scene very rapidly.

The Williams garage confirmed that it was a fuel leak which had caused the explosion. The incident is being investigated by the authorities.

The Spanish River Segura is having rubbish dumped at its mouth and ecologists are telling the River Segura Water Authority ( CHS ) to stop dumping the rubbish.

They say that the rubbish is accumulating at the breakwaters and is being left there by fishermen.

This area is a protected wetland and although the ecologists do say that the water authority does clean the area from time to time they say that the situation must not continue.

The contamination also attracts rats and feral cats which feed on the residue and creates plagues of flies as well as affecting wildlife. Also the accumulation of sediments at the river mouth is causing an extensive sand bar preventing the proper circulation of water which flow from the irrigation channels along the old channel of the river. This has caused a canal in Dolores to overflow in heavy rain last November.

If the CHS restricted vehicle access to the river mouth from the pedestrian bridge it could reduce the amount of rubbish and some of the sediment could be removed to improve circulation , is the advice.

Two men who dressed as police officers on the AP-7 between the Spanish border with France and Castellon , robbed elderly foreigners , and have now been arrested.

Catalan regional police detained the men  who are both aged 28 and are of Bosnian nationality.They were resident in Barcelona on the Costa Brava.It appears that they have been convicted of similar offences in the past.The elderly people were mainly targeted at service stations.

They have been accused of breaking and entering , robbery and impersonating a public official. One was found to have a false National Police identification.The duty court in Tortosa has released the two on bail.

A family “clan ” in Alicante city , on the Spanish Costa Blanca , have been busted by the National Police.They are alleged to have been dealing in “intoxicating substances “.

Eight suspects have been arrested and most of the eight are related.They were distributing the drugs from a bar in the northern part of the city.

The police searched a bar owned by one of them and the home of the one thought to be the organiser.

They seized 400 g of amphetamines , 11 g of cocaine, 85g of hashish in pellets , 10g of marijuana and 6 packets of anabolic steroids.

They also confiscated a shotgun , a starting pistol , two sets of precision scales ,tools for handling drugs , accounting records related to drugs plus 1000 euros in cash.

Police in the northern district of Alicante have been observing the bar for about a month and then had enough evidence to move in . All of the suspects are aged between 28 and 68 years of age.They have been placed at the disposition of the court.