Magaluf holiday resort in Calvia. Photo / Getty Images
Magaluf holiday resort in Calvia. Photo / Getty Images
Sending British police to Magaluf to help their Spanish counterparts keep an eye on holidaymakers who have long plagued the area with their drunken, raucous antics seemed like a good idea at the time.
But it has ended in a PR disaster, with one of the West Midlands officers boasting about being "sozzled" after a day of patrolling around the party island.
PC Martina Anderson told friends she was too drunk to spell properly as she uploaded a picture to Facebook of the sunset from the four-star spa retreat on Costa de la Calma, where she is staying with her fellow officer Sergeant Brett Williams.
When her friend named Andrew Carroll replied: "I thought you were to stop people drinking too much, not join them" she quipped: "If you can't beat em..."
The incident will cause further embarrassment to the National Police Chiefs Council and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which set aside £14,000 of funding for the two week trial.
PC Anderson and Sgt Brett Williams will fly to San Antonio, Ibiza on Monday morning for the second part of the exercise, after enjoying a weekend of relaxation and sight-seeing in Magaluf.
The two officers spent five days patrolling the Spanish island's beaches, airport terminals and holiday resorts in full uniform, in theory to assist British victims of crime.
However, their presence drew criticism after it emerged that they have no powers of arrest and are patrolling no later than 10pm, meaning that when thousands of British revellers pour on to the notorious Punta Ballena strip at night they are nowhere to be seen.
A British policewoman walks with a Spanish Civil Guard as they patrol at Punta Ballena street in the holiday resort of Magaluf. Photo / Getty Images
Earlier in the week, the officers were spotted sunbathing and posing for selfies - apparently unaware they were surrounded by tourists openly flouting the new by-laws which forbid people from wondering around with no shirt on unless by a swimming pool or beach.
A raft of new regulations designed to curb anti-social behaviour were introduced in June, which also include limiting bar crawls and banning street drinking after 10pm.
Despite the best attempts of hoteliers and the local government to improve the image of the Balaerac island, and an estimated fall of 50,000 youngsters compared to last year, night life on the Punta Ballena strip remains chaotic.
The Telegraph saw a British teenage girl dressed in barely more than underwear in a paralytic state near the strip this week, being restrained from a fight by fellow tourists until Guardia Civil arrived at around 2am.
The teenager, dressed in white shorts and a green floral crop top, screamed "I'm f***ing terrified" as Spanish police handcuffed her, before taking her away in an ambulance.
The West MIidlands officers were no where to be seen, having returned to their hotel to relax by the swimming pool some eight hours earlier.
British holidaymakers said they prefer to have British police around as they are more "lenient" than the Guardia Civil.
Sean McCarthy, an 18-year-old rep from Hammersmith, went London, said: "British police are a lot more lenient, very happy to stop things without violence. The British police are always very nice."
Ian Macclure, 29, who moved from Kent to Magaluf seven years ago, said that the police have been treated "like celebrities" rather then as serious law enforcers.
"People are happy to see them and stop them to take pictures and selfies because it is a novelty to have them out here," he said.
West Midlands Police Deputy Chief Constable Dave Thompson said he stood by the force's decision to send the officers to Spain, saying it was "the right thing to do".
"They have been received with gratitude by Spanish officers and civic leaders," he said.
"I also hope they enjoy this unique opportunity and am proud to see them representing our force on behalf of British policing."
