Angela Kennett, from Aylesbury, Bucks, returned to her home in Spain to find she had forgotten her keys

Angela Kennett, from Aylesbury, Bucks, returned to her home in Spain to find she had forgotten her keys. She scaled a porch to try to reach the first-floor window of her £400,000 flat, but it gave way and crashed to the ground as she climbed across it. It is thought she died after being hit on the head by a wooden beam. Angela turned 27 on Sunday. The latest tragedy happened in an upmarket residential neighbourhood near Marbella, along the coast from Nerja. A neighbour alerted cops after finding the victim shortly after 10am on Monday. She was lying among the debris of the pergola with blood streaming from a head wound.
Angela was already dead by the time police and paramedics arrived. It is believed she had just returned from her birthday party with friends when she fell. A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said today: "We heard the boyfriend screaming and ran outside to see him standing over the girl. "We called emergency services immediately. He was in a terrible state crying and shouting. "He was in too bad a way to tell us what happened. It is an awful tragedy. She was a very nice person, she always used to say hello whenever she saw us. "I haven't been able to get the image of her lying there out of my head since it happened." A police source said it was not the first time Angela had climbed across the pergola after going out and forgetting her keys. The couple's house is set in a gated community with a swimming pool, and has a small garden with a sun terrace. A post mortem due today was expected to confirm she had died of a blow to the head after a wooden beam fell on top of her as the structure collapsed. Friends of Angela, thought to have worked at American Express, have paid tribute to her on her Facebook page. Jessica Wilson said: "You bought such fun times at AMEX. You will be sadly missed. "

BRITISH DRUNK DRIVER ARRESTED IN SPAIN

The man is wanted in connection with causing the death of another driver when he was drunk and driving against the traffic last June. Named only as P.L. the arrested man was born in Glasgow in 1981 and had been driving a van against the traffic on the motorway at Larkhall in Scotland when the accident happened, despite him being banned from driving at the time

Costa del Sol, timeshare touts and the Unfair Commercial Practises Directive

Costa del Sol, timeshare touts are always on the lookout in trying to sell to any holiday maker. However, with the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, these intense marketing tactics will have to be cleaned up.

Usually, the timeshare touts hang around the sea front and bus station in Fuengirola waiting for vacationers to stop and accept one of their scratch cards. But as police are starting to enforce the strict marketing laws laid out in the directive, these touts are slowly disappearing. The Unfair Commercial Practises Directive was brought out around the end of last year. It was being enforced throughout Spain and the Canary Islands last March of this year as an attempt to clean up the entire timeshare industry in Europe and give it a much more professional image. With the said directive, the visitors of Costa del Sol will be able to walk along the sea front without being stopped by touts to get them to go on another five hours of hard sell timeshare presentation.Many owners are trying to get rid of their timeshares nowadays.With this, and with the decrease in sales for timeshares, most timeshare companies go on unreasonable selling techniques that might give a bad impression for any tourist spot. With the said directive, the genuine and legal timeshare companies will have to find different methods of getting someone to look at their resorts and products while the illegal timeshare companies will be forced out of business.

Andrew Henderson, 21, plunged five floors to his death after trying to leap across hotel balconies during a "lads' weekend" in Spain,

Andrew Henderson, 21, plunged five floors to his death after trying to leap across hotel balconies during a "lads' weekend" in Spain, an inquest has heard.Andrew Henderson, 21, had been on an all-day drinking session before he was found with multiple fractures by hotel workers at the resort of Torremolinos, Costa del Sol.Fellow holidaymakers recalled how he had repeatedly been jumping from his balcony to get into his friends' room.Speaking at the inquest, his father, Norman Henderson, said his son, from Hanover Way, had "probably been messing around" before the tragic plunge in April this year.Peter Bedford, coroner for Berkshire, delivered a verdict of death by misadventure at Windsor Guildhall.

Hard Rock Cafe Marbella will launch on the 29th October and open its doors to the public a day later.

Hard Rock International will be launching a new location in Spain’s Costa del Sol this month. The Marbella cafe will be Spain’s fifth Hard Rock Cafe. The new Hard Rock Cafe will be situated in Marbella’s Puerto Banus area, just opposite the main entrance of the El Corte Ingles department store.The new establishment of around 1000sqm is receiving a 2.5 million euro installation and decoration investment injection. The new venue will seat around 300 and include a bar as well as an open-air terrace and Rock Shop, and also feature Hard Rock’s limited-edition merchandise.“Marbella is one of Europe’s premiere and most exclusive Mediterranean destinations situated on the scenic Costa del Sol,” said Hamish Dodds, president and CEO of Hard Rock International. “With its rich Andalusian history and diverse cultural offerings, we are proud to call Marbella home to Spain’s newest Hard Rock Cafe.”The director of Hard Rock Spain, Carlos Naranjo told a group of journalists recently that his company usually only launches a venue in cities with several million inhabitants. Naranjo confirmed: “Nevertheless, the case of Marbella is special and its attractiveness and potential have made it possible for us to bet on this new location.”The new venue is expected to create between 70 permanent jobs (up to 100 in summer) as well as an international “promotion boost” to the city of Marbella.







Hard Rock International has a total of 157 venues in 52 countries, including 127 cafes and 12 Hotels/Casinos.

Marks & Spencer is set to return to the Costa del Sol to target the ex-pat community.

The 14,000-sq ft store will open next month and franchised to long-term franchise partner York. While fresh food will not be sold at the Marbella store, the outlet will target the ex-pat community with clothing, homewear, biscuits and cakes, according to The Times.“We’re delighted to be opening a new store in Marbella this autumn,” said M&S international director Clem Constantine. “We’ve had a successful franchise partnership with York for over 40 years in Gibraltar and feel this is an excellent opportunity for us to offer our high-quality, good-value products to both the local and expat population in Marbella.”M&S sold off its Spanish stores in 2001 for a reported €150 m to El Corte Inglés, the country’s biggest department store chain.

Banana Beach, would not be retrospectively licensed and would have to be demolished, probably next year.

Banana Beach is one of three holiday home schemes excluded from an initiative to stop a decade-long dispute over the legality of many developments in Marbella. This spring the town's new mayor, Angeles Muñoz - who has vowed to end years of actual or alleged corruption involving former Marbella council chiefs and developers – announced that 18,000 "illegal" homes in the area would be given retrospective building licences, making them legal. But she said three schemes, including Banana Beach, would not be retrospectively licensed and would have to be demolished, probably next year.Yet spanishpropertyworld.com, the website quoted above, still advertises flats at Banana Beach from €259,888 (£243,300). The website – which does not publish its telephone number – makes no reference to the demolition threat and has not answered Cash's repeated emails on the subject.A property portal, esmoz.com, is advertising all sizes of apartments at Banana Beach for sale, but has also failed to answer enquiries about the scheme. It describes Banana Beach as "a beautiful, luxury development of apartments right on the beach-front in Marbella. There are extensive leisure facilities and, of course, spectacular sea views".The agency Interealty, which is selling Banana Beach flats through esmoz.com, has also declined to respond to telephone and email enquiries about the ads.A spokesman for the Marbella authorities says the mayor wanted to license retrospectively all illegal homes but this has been prevented by regional and national governments. One reason may be that, unlike most other schemes, Banana Beach, built in 1998, is only 100 metres from the sea and breaks an earlier development law that prevents homes being constructed so close to the coast.Hundreds of existing owners at Banana Beach, many of them Britons, face their homes being demolished, with no compensation offered

estimated 1.05m new homes are completed or nearly built across Spain, but without buyers. About 50% are holiday homes on the Costas

estimated 1.05m new homes are completed or nearly built across Spain, but without buyers. About 50% are holiday homes on the Costas

banks have refused to honour bank guarantees placed in escrow-type deposits by foreign buyers, even after developers have gone bust

■ Some banks have refused to honour bank guarantees placed in escrow-type deposits by foreign buyers, even after developers have gone bust

■ At Chiclana in Andalucia, 2,292 homes are scheduled for demolition because they were built illegally on land designated as open space
■ In Valencia region, occasional "land grab" compulsory purchases of holiday homes still take place. British MEP Roger Helmer has called this "the Robert Mugabe school of land redistribution"
■ Property values in some coastal areas have halved since the Spanish property crash started in late 2006;

Thousands of Europeans take advantage of the Spanish Health Service for their operations

Socialist ex President of Extremadura, Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra, has attacked medical tourism in a radio interview, and written an article published in El País on gatecrash health tourism, where thousands of Europeans take advantage of the Spanish Health Service for their operations.He is not attacking medical tourism where people pay to go to Spain for treatment in a private clinic, but “cross border healthcare” where some holidaymakers, and foreign part or full-time expatriates are accessing free treatment in Spain.Ibarra’s argument is that health tourism is increasingly common with thousands of Europeans taking advantage of the free Spanish system for procedures which are free there but charged for in the countries of origin, describing replacement hips and knees, and heart and cataract operations the most in demand. He claims the practice has reached such dimensions that some travel agents have added the health service to the list of attractions. Ironically, the nation most blamed is the British, the irony being that only weeks ago British politicians were blaming foreigners going to Britain just for free treatment as a reason the NHS is not delivering as well as they would like.It would be easy to dismiss Ibarra as yet another politician ranting at foreigners, but he gives some data to back up his argument. He may be using old data, but anyone who has ever tried to get Spanish figures on anything will know that they are usually several years old before they reach daylight. He quotes the Malaga division of the Andalucian Health Service as saying in June 2004 that some 400,000 EU residents live in the province and get health cover and the ensuing financial black hole is enough to pay for the Malaga Metro or build 25 hospitals. He says that every EU citizen not on the census but receiving health care is costing Spain 686 euros a year.

San Pedro, near Estapona on the Costa del Sol sighting of suspected killer

Suspected killer of drug dealer Michael 'Roly' Cronin and an associate has not been traced by Spanish police -- and has now been missing for more than nine months.The man (36), from Dublin's north inner city, was last sighted in San Pedro, near Estapona on the Costa del Sol last February. The suspect has not been seen since and it is believed he may have been targeted by the gang behind Cronin's murder amid fears he was to be arrested by Spanish police. Gardai in Dublin are actively seeking the man and intend to press charges against him if found.At the inquest into Cronin's death this week, Detective Inspector Fran Sweeney told Dublin City Coroner's Court that the DPP had recommended that charges be brought against the suspect for the murders of Cronin (35) and his associate, James Moloney (26). Both men were shot dead as they sat in a car in Summerhill.The suspected gunman fled the country immediately afterwards. Gardai notified their Spanish counterparts about reports that the suspect was in the Estapona area, but the last confirmed sighting of him there was on February 4 last. There has been no trace of the man since then and gardai suspect he may have come to serious harm.The suspected hitman is known to gardai for involvement in petty and serious crime, over two decades. At this week's inquest, Det Inspector Sweeney said there would be a criminal trial in the case of both men's deaths and they were actively seeking a suspect. Dr Farrell adjourned the inquest, under Section 25.1 of the Coroner's Act 1962 until a date in April 2010. A joint inquest into the men's deaths was opened in February.'Roly' Cronin was a major drug trafficker in the inner city and on the north and west sides of the capital and had served a 13-year jail sentence after being caught in possession of heroin at his Buckingham Street house.Maloney, who also had an address in Poppintree, had no criminal convictions. Maloney was an associate of Cronin and had acted as his driver in the weeks prior to the murders,Cronin had made enemies in the years before he was shot, and a north Dublin gang is suspected of ordering his murder, in a dispute over drug dealing turf on the city's northside.

Stephen Gately Dies at 33

Popular Irish boy band member Stephen Gately has died at the age of 33. He had been a huge part of Boyzone, which topped charts and broke sales records in Britain and Ireland during the 1990s, and which recently made a comeback.Stephen passed away on a holiday in Majorca, Spain. The cause of death is not yet known, but has been reported that he choked on his own vomit after drinking.Aside from huge success with Boyzone, Stephen was also notable for being the first member of a major boy group to come out as gay, which he did in 1999.He married long-term partner Andrew Cowles in a civi ceremony in 2006.Writing that they are “completely devastated” on his website, the other members of the band say, “Stephen was a beautiful person in both body and spirit. He lit up our lives and those of the many friends he had all over the world.”

Ronald Priestley, 69, was detained in Malaga on Wednesday afternoon in connection with £4.25m of currency counterfeiting offences.

Leeds-born Priestley is the 25th person to be arrested under Operation Captura, an initiative to catch criminals wanted in the UK who are on the run in Spain. He was detained under a European Arrest Warrant and could face charges in Britain within 10 days. Priestley, who is wanted by West Yorkshire Police, was featured in the first appeals made under Operation Captura in October 2006, a Crimestoppers spokeswoman said. The pressure on criminals on the run in Spain is stronger than ever Robbie Bulloch, British Embassy attache in Madrid Robbie Bulloch, justice and home affairs attache at the British Embassy in Madrid, said: "This arrest is an important reminder that large-scale fraud is a serious offence which does harm ordinary people."Thanks to the great public response to the Captura campaign, the pressure on criminals on the run in Spain is stronger than ever." Priestley fled Britain in 2005 after failing to answer bail at Leeds Crown Court on charges of manufacturing false banknotes with a face value of £4.25m. In February 2006, he was convicted in his absence of the offences and sentenced to eight years in jail. He is believed to have connections in Leeds, Manchester, Blackpool, Liverpool, Glasgow, London and Ireland. Crimestoppers' founder and chairman, Lord Ashcroft said: "The fact is that half the criminals who have been featured under Operation Captura have already been caught. "Therefore my message to the rest of them, still on the run, is that they should put their affairs in order and find a tenant for their villas, because there's a good chance they will be soon on their way home."

British woman has been killed in Alicante province in one of two murder-suicides

British woman has been killed in Alicante province in one of two murder-suicides which took place in Spain on Sunday. Both women were shot by their husbands, who then used the murder weapon to take their own lives.The Alicante couple lived in San Fulgencio, where the 55 year old victim was shot as she lay sleeping in her home early on Sunday afternoon. Her murder and her 72 year old husband’s suicide were discovered shortly after 10pm when the couple failed to keep an appointment with a neighbour who was due to drive them to El Altet Airport to collect the husband’s sister who was arriving from the UK that day. The man had suffered some strokes, but was thought to be recovering well. The bodies of the two have been taken to Alicante for autopsies to be carried out.In neighbouring Cataluña, a woman in her forties died at the family home in Vila-Seca, Tarragona province, when she was also shot by her husband. He then committed suicide, and it’s understood from EFE that the couple’s young son was in the house at the time and was a witness to his parents’ deaths on Sunday night.Yet another woman died in Madrid on Sunday, a Cuban woman who was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife at her home in Talamanca del Jarama. The murderer was her 20 year old son, who fled the scene after the fatal stabbing early on Sunday and was later arrested 4 kms away from the village after stabbing another woman as he made his escape through the village.She survived the attack.

Los Monteros Hotel in Marbella, EFE reports this Monday, signs that its Russian owner, Ernest Malyshev, is preparing to reopen the establishment.

Los Monteros Hotel in Marbella, EFE reports this Monday,  signs that its Russian owner, Ernest Malyshev, is preparing to reopen the establishment. Electricity is back on and water supply has been restored, and it’s thought the gas bill has also been paid.The news is not so good for the staff of the luxury hotel however, as, despite the owner’s payment last Friday of 99,000 € towards the money owed to the workers, it’s only a little more than half of the amount which was, in fact, agreed with the workforce as a first payment.José García Osorio, president of the workers’ committee, said the staff may now apply again for the temporary layoff for part of the workforce which was refused by the authorities because the hotel, at the time, lacked the minimum services of water and electricity.EFE notes that the owner has so far failed to comply with the terms of the agreement signed with the workforce at the end of August to put an end to the conflict, which included a four-month temporary layoff for all but 72 of the staff, and a first payment of 180,000 € towards their unpaid salaries.

Search is underway for a lioness, which it is thought may have escaped from a circus

Search is underway for a lioness, which it is thought may have escaped from a circus which has been sighted across the provinces of Tarragona, Teruel and Castellón.Some youngsters out jogging close to La Sénia saw the animal on Saturday and alerted the authorities, who believe the animal is running wild in the Ports de Besseit area, between the three provinces. Other groups of people also saw the lioness on Sunday and again on Monday.The environmental section of the Civil Guard, Seprona, is recommending trippers to stay away from the area as the search continues. The regional police, Los Mossos d’Esquadra, local police and rural agents are all taking part in the search.

Bull which escaped from the bullring in Marbella was shot dead on

Bull which escaped from the bullring in Marbella was shot dead on Tuesday morning after rampaging through the town for at least 40 minutes, Diario Sur reports. The animal was finally brought down by local police after running some 700 metres along Avenida Arias de Velasco, injuring a 72 year old woman as it tried to make its escape.It’s understood from El Mundo that the pensioner was not gored, but was transferred to the Costa del Sol Hospital for treatment. Diario Sur said another woman was injured in the bullring itself and a third in the street.

England soccer star was targeted by a East European kidnap gang on Spain's Costa del Sol.

England soccer star was targeted by a ruthless East European kidnap gang on Spain's Costa del Sol.

Another brutal crime syndicate plotted to snatch and ransom the family of a top TV presenter.
Law agencies across Europe fear any celeb is at risk in the Spanish resorts where Britons flock for sunshine holidays.The player, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was targeted while visiting the area at the end of last year's football season. But the plan was aborted at the last minute.Ex-British intelligence agent Paul Grimshaw, now a security consultant in Marbella, said: "Crime gangs from Eastern Europe and Russian are moving in. The area is teeming with wealth."They don't care who they target as long as there is money to be earned. The footballer was picked out for that reason."They got cold feet. But reliable sources are adamant that a highprofile celebrity kidnapping is only a matter of time. Footballers, especially wealthy ones, should be vigilant at all times."Grimshaw revealed the threat of kidnap is scaring the wealthy away from Spain. He said: "Former England manager Steve McClaren sold his villa last year over fears about the rising crime rate. The Qatar royal family has not visited its 14-bedroom home in Marbella for nearly five years and will probably never return."A personal security officer for Spanish-based CCS24Gibraltar said: "I've worked on the Costa del Sol for ten years and crime has never been worse. It's dangerous and frightening. Kidnappings, drug-trafficking and robberies happen all the time."High walls and cameras don't deter these criminals. If they want to get you - they will."Leeds-born Grimshaw, 46, alerted the Football Association and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to the soccer star plot. He wrote in August: "An England player was the target of a kidnap plot after the Champions League Final in Moscow in 2008. It is believed the player was pinpointed at either a training camp or during a vacation in southern Spain."Anybody travelling abroad should review their security arrangements. This threat was not limited to one player."Pfa chief executive Gordon Taylor said: "We can't afford not to take information like this seriously in this day and age.
"Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Everton's Phil Jagielka were targeted by burglars. Spurs player Wilson Palacios' brother Edwin was kidnapped in Honduras in May. Wilson paid a £125,000 ransom but Edwin was murdered."There is precedent for snatching soccer stars. Manchester United ace Dimitar Berbatov was kidnapped in his native Bulgaria while an 18-year-old with CSKA Sofia. He was freed unharmed but recalled yesterday: "It was a horrific ordeal."Grimshaw, who has lived in Spain for 20 years, warned: "Abduction worries have rocketed, particularly in Marbella."The Russian Mafia has been gaining ground in Spain since the last property boom made it an attractive place to launder money. They prey on the rich - and will stop at nothing.In June, four Russians grabbed a man in the street in Estepona and told him he would die within 24 hours unless he paid them £12,000. He escaped after being tortured for two days. Some gangs are Kosovan Albanians, often ex-soldiers. Others are Romanian and Lithuanian.The family of property developer Frank Capa - a pal of Rod Stewart - paid a £1 million for his release after he was kidnapped in Marbella in 2004.Ian Watmore of the FA confirmed they were reviewing player security after Grimshaw's tip. A security officer added: "Famous footballers and celebrities are sitting ducks. I advise them to choose their friends carefully."