Robbed holidaymakers condemn Spanish police

TWO local holidaymakers were robbed after their Mercedes suffered a blowout on a Spanish motorway. Peter Woodward, 57, and his wife, Brenda, 51, believe gangsters shot their tyre.

The incident was featured, with a photograph, in the Daily Telegraph this week.

Mr Woodward warned tourists in Spain to be on the alert. And he condemned the country's police for what he called gross negligence following the attack, which occurred between Barcelona and Tarragona.

'I think that the total disregard for our plight and personal safety was breathtaking,' he said. 'The trauma of this event was compounded by their disgraceful behaviour.'

The couple had driven continuously for more than 250km before the event. For about 50km a blue car was driving alongside them, sometimes overtaking, sometimes slowing to allow them to pass. Suddenly, the rear nearside tyre of the Woodward's Mercedes suffered a blowout, causing it to fishtail violently. It nearly overturned but Mr Woodward managed to pull over and stop on the hard shoulder.

A man got out of the blue car and told the couple to put up their emergency warning triangle 100 metres away. During the confusion, their money, credit cards, passports, mobile phone and camera were stolen. The man ran to his car and drove off.

They used the roadside SOS phone to contact the police. There followed a series of incidents in which the police and roadside authorities effectively left the couple to fend for themselves. They were refused access through tollbooths and few attempts were made to offer them assistance. They were told that their only option was to ask their retired English friends to drive 350km to collect them.

The Woodwards were at the police station for about three hours. It was a hot day and they had not drunk any fluids for more than five hours. The police officer in charge told them the water was not drinkable.

'There was a vending machine at the station but he did not offer to give us a drink. He finally added insult to injury by buying a cup of coffee in front of us and drinking it.

'I believe that this showed a total lack of humanity and was an act of extreme callousness.'

A technician took them back to their now-repaired car and said that they were just two of several tourists to be robbed in the space of two days.

'As we slowly began to realise at this point that in all probability a firearm had been used, we were astounded at the total lack of concern from the officer at the police post. Already shocked by the event, I now was physically sick with the thought that without regaining control of the car, I would have had a catastrophic accident that in all probability would have been put down to driver error - just one more statistic.'

To top it all, they were told that they would be prosecuted if they continued to use the toll roads despite offering to get a friend to pay at the other end. They were left in the near-impossible situation of having to drive to their destination on back roads with limited fuel. Mr Woodward attributed this 'un-needed trauma' to the police officer. He has contacted the UK Foreign Office in the ultimate hope that disciplinary measures will be taken against him.

Mr Woodward has heard other reports from friends and the Foreign Office of similar incidents in the area and believed the Spanish authorities were disguising the problem. He believed tourists with northern European plates were being targeted.

'I think it's utterly rife,' he said, adding that he had heard that the violence involved in the attacks was increasing. 'They are using a variety of techniques and are doing it with impunity.

'When it happened to me, the police were totally irresponsible,' he said, adding that no forensic tests had been carried out on the tyre.

'My thoughts about them are unrepeatable and it's clear to me that they don't care.

'The only reason I went public is because I'm incandescent by their lack of activity.'