A British tourist was arrested in Spain after admitting to causing almost £1,400 worth of damage to a hotel – and telling police to “F**k off” when they tried to intervene.
Conor Duncan McDonald, 19, smashed a door at the four-star Cook Club Calvia Beach in Magaluf during a drunken wrecking spree, before breaking another when he was refused entry to his room later that day. The holidaymaker was retained by hotel staff and when police arrived, he hurled insults and lunged at them. The teenager then fled the scene but was quickly intercepted and arrested.
McDonald blamed his actions on excess alcohol after appearing in court and accepting a fine. An indictment drafted by prosecutors detailed how he told police to ‘F*** off’ as part of a “hostile and aggressive” attitude before his attempts to flee after they were called to the hotel.
Conor was staying at the four-star Cook Club Calvia Beach in Magaluf (SOLARPIX.COM)McDonald had smashed a fourth-floor hotel door in the morning after a marathon drinking session which saw him jumping from a terrace next door. He then broke a second-floor door later the same day after trying to get back into his room and being stopped by hotel staff.
Following his arrest, McDonald paid the cost of the damage he caused, which totalled €1,600 (£1,362). He has now agreed to pay a fine totalling €600 (£510) after admitting to crimes of damage and resisting arrest. The teen could have been jailed if his lawyer hadn't put forward a plea bargain deal with public prosecutors.
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McDonald spent two nights in police custody following his arrest on July 28 last year and was warned he will still go to prison if he fails to pay the fine. He appeared via videoconference at a short hearing which took place amid growing unrest in Majorca at the amount and type of tourism the island is attracting.
On May 25, around 15,000 people protested in the Majorcan capital Palma. A group called Banc del Temps based in the inland town of Sencelles organised the demo against ‘tourist overcrowding’ under the slogan ‘Mallorca no se vende’ which is Spanish for ‘Majorca is not up for sale.'
Conor has now agreed to pay a fine of £510 for the damages (Getty Images/iStockphoto)The organisers of the historic anti mass tourism protest in Majorca had to apologise afterwards for the abuse directed at holidaymakers. Foreign visitors were booed and jeered by some locals as they ate evening meals on terraces in Palma’s Weyler Square.
Marchers were also heard chanting ‘Tourists go home’ as they passed through the central square on the 20-minute route from the park where the protest began to iconic street Paseo del Borne. The banners campaigners carried included one with the offensive message: “Salvem Mallorca, guiris arruix’ which in Catalan Spanish means ‘Let’s save Majorca, foreigners out’.
It played on the colloquial Spanish expression Guiri which is used to portray northern European tourists like the British holidaymakers partying in Magaluf, usually in a mildly offensive way. Another placard said in Catalan: “Where you look they’re all guiris.”
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