BRITISH tourists in Magaluf have attacked a team of reporters filming a documentary on the drunken debauchery that has long blighted the resort area of the town of Calvià, Mallorca.
The crew, from the programme En el punto de mira – which translates roughly as 'in the spotlight' or 'under scrutiny' – from Spain's fourth channel, La Cuatro, were shooting scenes on the Punta Ballena strip, known for its busy nightlife, at around 05.40 this morning.
A cameraman and a lady news reporter were accompanying an ambulance taking a drunken young woman in an extremely bad way to her accommodation at the Hotel Martinique when they were set upon by British youths.
They kicked and punched the filming equipment and the cameraman whilst the crew was waiting in the hotel lobby as paramedics attended to the young woman.
Extensive damage was caused to the equipment, which is expected to be beyond repair, and the filming man sustained injuries to his back and multiple cuts and bruises.
The ambulance they had been recording attended to him immediately.
Meanwhile, the British youths fled the scene, but police have requested the hotel's CCTV footage in an attempt to identify them.
This is the latest – and one of the most serious – incidences in the island's beach-and-party hub which has led to international headlines over the past few summers and which Balearic authorities are desperately trying to stamp out to avoid ruining the impression of Mallorca as a holiday destination.
'Balconing' – attempting to jump out of a hotel room or off an apartment terrace into the swimming pool below, normally under the influence of alcohol and frequently leading to deaths or life-limiting injuries; extreme drunkenness in public resulting in barely-conscious bodies on the pavement and revellers vomiting, urinating and defecating in full street view; tourists stripping off naked in the town centre; explicit and public sexual acts, and alcohol-fuelled fights are the order of the day, or night, in the Punta Ballena area.
Bars offering 'happy hours', tourist 'freak shows' in which girls from the audience are called to get on stage and take their tops off, organised pub crawls and drinking games are common.
One bar staged a competition in which the girl who was able to give oral sex to a line of men in the shortest time would get a free cocktail, priced at barely €5, and the 'winner' – an 18-year-old woman – was photographed in the act and shown on the front page of The Sun.
Sadly for the Balearic government, the obvious and endless charms of the island of Mallorca tend to be overlooked by potential tourists, whilst British holidaymakers are rapidly earning themselves an appalling reputation.
Add Magaluf to your holiday wish-list. No, seriously
Out-of-season Magaluf is an excellent, inexpensive base for exploring Mallorca, ideal for families or for visitors who want nature, culture and quiet beach time rather than clubbing.
With regular bus connections, agencies offering organised trips, and numerous car-hire firms, Magaluf from September to April offers cheap accommodation within easy reach of fun theme parks, the iconic Drach and Ham caves, the chic shopping city of Palma, the artists' colony town of Deià, the pearl factories in Manacor, the forest-lined beaches of Alcúdia, and the picturesque village of Valldemossa (pictured) where French author George Sands and Polish composer Frédéric Chopin famously spent a winter together in the monastery – and which is now home to souvenir shops selling copies of Sands' A winter in Mallorca in various languages, and CDs of Chopin's compositions.
Young revellers, particularly Brits, are attracted to Magaluf between May and August because it is cheap and has an active nightlife, but the scandals reported in the resort town are virtually absent the rest of the year.
Still, the Balearic tourism authorities have a tough job on their hands trying to convince the discerning holidaymaker to give Magaluf a try off-peak.
