Holiday Attacks - British Youth Take Knife Culture On Vacation

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Holiday Attacks - British Youth Take Knife Culture On Vacation

Having a holiday in Spain and her islands should be a happy occasion filled with lovely memories. Holiday destinations like Majorca in Spain offer an enticing warm and sunny climate. The beaches are pristine with sparkling blue seas. The atmosphere is casual and the food is delicious. What is not to like? Knife fights initiated by brawling British thugs also known as Yobs would top the list for most people.

Knife fights? Unfortunately it is true that the epidemic of knife fights has turned some of Spain's most popular holiday resorts into battlegrounds. The situation has become so alarming in places like Majorca and Tenerife that Spanish police have initiated random knife searches among tourists.

Yes, tourists. The knife wielding culprits are young thugs from the UK. They pack their deadly weapons along with their passports and clothes when they head off to enjoy a few days in sunny Spain. Or they make a knife purchase their first transaction upon reaching their destination.

What accounts for this? Why have knife fights become such a problem for host countries like Spain? By all accounts the answer lies in the booming knife culture that has developed in Great Britain. The culprits have been identified as so-called Yobs or angry young men. London is a focal point for the growth of the knife culture, though it has spread to other cities as well. In 2007 there were 26 knife murders in London. Almost all of the victims were young people ranging in age from mid-teens to early 30s.

In the first half of 2008 another 18 young victims died as a result of knife wounds. The rash of incidents resulted in a crackdown by British police. Using airport type sensors, the police have initiated a stop and search campaign involving thousands of random searches. Thus far they have arrested over 1,200 people and confiscated over 500 knifes. The weapons themselves are not little pen knives. Many of them have blades that can range up to 13 cm. They are weapons as deadly as any hand gun, and those who carry them do not hesitate to use them.

In addition to the police efforts to deal with the problem, concerned Brits like soccer superstar David Beckham have stepped up as well. Beckham has firsthand knowledge of the devastation that follows in the wake of a knife attack. As a youngster playing youth soccer, the brother of Beckham's best friend was attacked and left paralyzed. The young man was a promising soccer player about to sign with a pro team. The disturbing rash of recent incidents led Beckham to enlist other soccer stars in an effort to discourage the growing knife culture.

Still there is no easy fix to the problem. So far there has been no discernable abatement of the problem. What makes it troublesome for tourist areas is that the young British thugs do not leave their knives at home when they go on holiday. That is why the Spanish police have resorted to the same stop and search campaign as the British police in London.

Two incidents in particular highlight the problems in Spain. Twenty-six-year-old Daniel Hastelow found a job as a bartender in the resort town of Magaluf. In January 2008, on the night he was murdered by knife-wielding thugs from Britain, Hastelow was celebrating his birthday with friends. He got into a minor argument with the thugs. His murderers apparently followed him home and stabbed him to death while his horrified flat mate looked on. His assailants were arrested at the airport as they waited to board a plane back to Britain.

Another minor incident involved a British tourist who had been drinking heavily. The incident soon blew up into a massive riot. Spanish police quickly closed off the area; 150 rioters were searched with many knifes confiscated.

A study by police officials in the wake of this riot revealed that as many as 10 percent of Brits holidaying in Spain were involved in violent fights during their holiday. Clearly the Spanish officials have reason to be concerned. With the growing number of incidents involving knife-toting tourists from the UK, it will not take much for peaceful tourists to change their holiday destination.

Spanish holiday islands like Majorca and Tenerife can quickly find themselves short of the tourists that keep their economies going. This is especially true of families with young children who are not willing to risk their well-being when alternative holiday destinations can be found just a short distance away on family friendly islands like Menorca.

About the Author

Tribune Properties have a series of travel guides, including one for the family friendly island of Minorca at yourmenorca.net Included in the Minorca holidays guide is a five day Minorca weather forecast and the Minorca weather in May Menorca property and apartments for sale in Menorca are also available.

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