Muggings

[Tony Ince]

Is there an increase in the number of people who are, unfortunately, having their holidays ruined by muggers? I ask this, having had a friend mugged whilst leaving Villamartin Plaza a fortnight ago. It was quite serious, as he finished up in the local hospital having been found unconcious on the road between the Plaza & the Golf club. He was told that there as been a spate of muggings with no sign of a decrease. Does anybody know whether this is true, and furthermore what are the local Police doing to combat it?

[Violetas]

I was staying at our apartment very near to the plaza over Easter and I didn't hear a word about any muggings.
I did speak to our president (who lives there full time) and he told me there have been a few burglaries in the area over the past month .
He said it was a shame as we have had no problems for over 2 years now and then one after the other. He said it was possibly a silver fiesta?
Sorry to hear about your friend but even in England you have to be careful.

[Debbie4121]

I live in Villamartin, just down over the canal, and here burglaries/muggings are almost a daily occurance.

My neighbour had her handbag stolen from her car on Saturday afternoon, having just turned her back for 2 seconds. I had my handbag stolen on Saturday night, despite having the strap across my body and the bag actually in my hand. A young lad came up behind me, cut the strap with a stanley knife and disappeared into a waiting car. I did chase them, but a middle aged woman in heels halfway up a wet flight of stairs is no match for a lad in trainers.

Another neighbour chased off 2 guys in a car who were obviously casing the houses. The car involved in all the above is a silver Citroen, or Seat, or could be a Fiesta, with the registration 2820 DF, so if you see it, be very aware!

I even met one really nice old gent who lives alone. Unfortunately he is the only one living in his block, and he hasn't been out in the evening since before Christmas, as since he was burgled he is afraid to leave his apartment at night in case they come back. He even sleeps with his passport/credit cards, etc, in a bag in bed with him. At 80 years old, this is no way to live.

We went to the Guardia to report all this, but they are either not interested or are completely overwhelmed with the problem

We wil just have to resort barricading ourselves into our houses at night - I even block up the cat flap when we go to bed, and carrying our money in our pants!!

[squeals]

Whilst Spain has it's problems so does the UK. Handbag snatches, muggings and burglarys are daily occurences in the UK and the Police don't even investigate many of them as generally there are no leads. I personally think the Guardia seem to have quite alot of success arresting some of the big gangs, including some of my recently departed Romanian neighbours! The fear of crime is sometimes greater than the reality. Admittedly having your bag strap cut, there really is little you can do. Thin money belts will hold credit cards, money and passports etc and can be worn hidden under t-shirts. Then if you want other items such as makeup, hairbrush etc, carry them in a bag, which wouldn't be so inconvenient if stolen. Theives are often opportunists, hence if they see a bag unattended for second, even in the Uk it may be stolen. Don't let them ruin your lives, install an alarm system, window locks etc. Believe me life in the UK is pretty awful really (not everywhere I know, but generally the country is going down the toilet!). Spain is a far nicer place.

[Gentleone]

I must be lucky? I have been coming to Villa Martin for 3-4 times a year for at least 5 years. There were a lot of problems early on but we only commented recently how the crime seems to have disappeared. Personally I feel very safe walking around this area and feel a lot more relaxed than I was say 2 years ago. However I would say that some dodgy bastard nicked our patio furniture (which weighed a ton!).

[harry]

how about lining the inside of your handbag's strap with razor blades then putting it in a prominent position - now that would be a funny site!

Each of the scum could only do it twice!

[squeals]

Harry, fantastic, perhaps they should make you Home Sectretary! I'm all for justice and an eye for an eye etc!

[Debbie4121]

Razor blades - excellent idea!!!

Just to prove that the burglers are alive and well in Villamartin, on Wednesday afternoon a group of golfers arrived, having rented 4 houses in our street. Obviously they have hire cars, and these are parked either outside the houses or in the respective drives.

On Thursday morning, we got up to find that little piles of stones had been left outside 2 of the 4 houses. I read somewhere that this is classic burglar marking - identify the house and then come back later for the spoils. Curiously, it was the two houses that didn't have window locks (obviously they do now!). These stones definitely hadn't been there the previous day.

As I said before - keep your money in your pants!