MAGARUF
Magaluf used to be known just as a casual sex hotspot but now it has become a warzone as boozy Brits battle with cops and bouncers
Tensions have been running high as authorities crack down harder than ever on boozed-up tourists
THE constant wail of sirens drowns out the thumping dance music in the bars and clubs on the Magaluf party strip.
On the pavement outside the notorious Boomerang nightclub, a young lad lies unconscious, blood seeping from his temple.
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The bouncer who floored him, built like a UFC fighter, looms over him before landing a final punch.
Meanwhile, eight armed police officers chase a terrified reveller along the beach before rugby-tackling him to the ground.
He puts his hands up to surrender as their batons rain down on him.
Nearby, his hysterical girlfriend — wearing a “Maga is life” T-shirt — screams for help. Nobody comes.
On the other side of the 500m strip, an 18-year-old has been hospitalised after jumping off a second-floor balcony to escape three gung-ho bouncers.
It’s 5am. The stench of vomit, sweat and blood is all-pervasive — thanks to cheap drink, pugnacious bouncers and over-fired-up police.
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Tensions are running high as authorities crack down harder than ever on boozed-up revellers.
In a desperate bid to rid the resort of its “Shagaluf” image, Magaluf’s mayor Alfonso Rodriguez Badal says drunk Brits are “not wanted”.
He has called on bar owners in areas such as Magaluf’s notorious party strip, Punta Ballena, to stop offering booze at knockdown prices.
And he warned Brits that if they are looking for “debauchery” they would be “best off not coming”.
Given the disturbing scenes of youngsters floored by bouncers and police, it looks like he would be right.
I got punched by a bouncer... I look 12, I'm no threat
Jordan Thomas, 18
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I'm scarred by what I saw, the lad looked dead
Kane Johnsey, 21
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Officer told lad he'd kill him, it was scary
Holidaygoer Sophie Spelling, 19
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Once famed as a destination for sex and hedonism, Magaluf now resembles a warzone.
Cops attended 1,672 calls in May and June — up more than 400 on the same period last year.
The growing presence of the Policia Local Calvia cops is a direct result of zero-tolerance rules brought in to curb booze-fuelled antics.
The 64 banned activities include urinating, spitting and public nudism — as well as rules to ensure bar owners do not serve alcohol to those obviously drunk.
Those who break the town’s rules can be fined between 100 and 3,000 euros (£88 and £2,640).
Veterans say they have never seen such a fierce crackdown on revellers and claim the police presence simply exacerbates the behaviour of some bouncers who believe they now have tacit approval to lash out.
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Ana, 38, a local waitress told me: “It’s relentless. We feel like we’re living in a warzone. There are a lot of dodgy Albanian bouncers running the strip. They are not good people.”
Some club reps are even leaving to go to Kavos in Greece, traumatised by what they have seen and terrified for their safety.
One, who did not want to be named, said: “Until recently, there was no police presence. Now, they are hunting Brits in packs.
“The victims are mostly under 20 and no more threatening than TV’s Inbetweeners.”
Kane Johnsey, 21, a student from Caldicot, Wales, witnessed the attack on the man outside Boomerang, who is believed to be a French tourist.
In tears, he said: “That poor lad had blood pouring out of his eyes and his ears. Three massive bouncers were enjoying the violence. After, they patted each other on the back, shook hands and joked about it.”
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Other club reps claimed three armed police arrived but did not ask questions or tend to the victim.
“The police officers didn’t even check his pulse or show any compassion,” one rep said.
“It took 20 minutes for an ambulance to finally arrive, because police deliberately park their cars at the entrances to the strip, meaning ambulances cannot get through.
“They do it every night. Sometimes it takes ambulances 45 minutes to get to a victim who is in a critical condition like this lad, who I’ve heard is fighting for his life.
"No one will be arrested though. That trio of bouncers, who are notorious bullies, were back at work the next day. Scary.
“At this time of year, Magaluf is full of 18-year-olds who have just finished their A-levels and on holiday abroad with their mates.
“They think it’s a fun and safe place to drink cheap booze and hook up. They don’t realise the danger.”
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Last night a spokesman for Calvia Council insisted “municipal officials exercise their functions with professionalism and honesty”.
They said local police had arrived at Boomerang three minutes after the emergency call. Guardia Civil police arrived three minutes later.
“The ambulance took ten minutes to arrive, and the injured man, who was taken to hospital, had stated he did not know who had assaulted him.”
They added: “Punta Ballena street is closed to traffic using police vehicles when it is felt allowing vehicles to use the street would be dangerous.
“Local police know about any ambulance request in real time and immediately remove the vehicles that protect the area.”
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The council employs a private ambulance service “with a continual presence in the Magaluf area from 11pm to 7am which complements the public Spanish 061 service”.
Sophie Spelling, 19, a call centre worker from Peterborough, was on the second day of her holiday when she saw two cops apprehend a young Brit trying to run away.
Because he wouldn’t pay a 100-euro fine “they pulled down his shorts to humiliate him then one said he’d kill him. It was scary. I hope he’s OK”.
A club rep, who did not want to be named, recalled a bar crawl a few days earlier when she saw a “massive” bouncer repeatedly kicking a young unconscious man in the head.
Three bouncers picked on me. I had no choice but to jump off a balcony
Jack Harlowe, 18
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She recalls, tearfully: “No one intervened, everyone was too scared.”
Steadying himself on his crutches, student Jack Harlowe, 18, of Reading, described another incident: “It was my first night on the island and I became separated from my mates. I was drunk and lost.
“Three bouncers starting picking on me. I was in a hotel bar and was so scared I had no choice but to run to the balcony and launch myself off.
“I couldn’t walk the next day. I went to hospital and they told me I’d torn all the tendons in my legs.”
Jack’s story shares chilling similarities to the 19-year-old British holidaymaker who plunged from a fourth-floor balcony in Magaluf last month.
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He is still fighting for his life in hospital as police probe whether it was an accident or foul play.
Nearby, 18-year-old steelworker Jordan Thomas from Wales, points at his black eye.
“I got punched in the face for trying to help my mate who bouncers were beating up for no reason. I’m 5ft 6in and look about 12. I’m no threat. They want trouble.”
Adam Kinghorn, 18, a student from Manchester said: “We’re hearing a lot of horror stories about how dangerous the police and bouncers are here.
“Two of our mates experienced it first-hand. Police stopped them and demanded 1,000 euros. They refused to pay and one of them got beaten up.
“They’re not the sort who get into fights, they’re just normal boys.
“We expect police to be decent and law-abiding because we are from the UK but it’s the Wild West out here.”
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