British tourist holds up bus and taxi in Spain with a hole punch
A quick-thinking Mallorca driver managed to lock the holidaymaker in the bus
A 48-year-old holidaymaker from the UK has been arrested in Palma de Mallorca after using a very unusual weapon to hold up a taxi and public bus. The tourist brandished a hole punch typically used on tough materials like leather and wood and threatened the taxi driver in the middle of a packed street.
The man then jumped on board a nearby bus but the quick-thinking driver rushed the terrified passengers off before locking the crazed tourist inside. He then called the National Police.
When the man saw the police he made as if to stab himself with the hole punch while saying, “If you come near I’ll do it”, as he held it to his neck. Officers eventually convinced the man to throw the weapon on the ground and handcuffed him.
A spokesperson for National Police on the island said: “Officers have arrested a British man aged 48 on suspicion of robbery and intimidation against a taxi driver he threatened with a sharp weapon.
“The suspect then boarded a bus which the driver had to evacuate before locking him inside.”
According to the officer, the tourist was immediately hostile when he hopped into the taxi. As a result, the driver refused to take the man to the S’Arenal area of Mallorca and asked him to get out.
This made the British holidaymaker more irate, and he produced the hole punch and began waving it at the cabbie.
“Due to the threats the driver fled his vehicle and the suspect stole his mobile and got out as well before heading to a bus stop in a square in Palma called Plaza de la Reina,” the agent continued.
“The taxi driver continued to monitor the British man whilst alerting the police.
“Once he got to the bus stop the foreigner got onto a bus where there were other passengers.
“The driver of that bus, on seeing the man’s attitude and to protect the safety of the other passengers, decided to evacuate the vehicle and get off with them and then closed the door from outside until the police arrived.”
At the end of last month, eight English tourists who had flown to Palma de Mallorca for a stag party were arrested when they started a massive brawl outside a bar on Illetes beach in Mallorca and involved other customers, the wait staff and even police officers.
Image: Policía Nacional/Archive
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