Three dead bodies have been found on the 'Los Naranjos' property in less than a year.

The man arrested in connection with their deaths is the owner of the finca and testing for gunpowder residue is being carried out on the dead men’s hands to determine if either of them shot at the suspect now in custody. There are some reports that both were carrying pistols, and the owner of the finca is reported to have claimed that he defended himself when...

Len and Helen Prior,Constitutional Court has ruled the proceedings which led to the demolition to be invalid

There was some good news last week for Len and Helen Prior, the British couple whose home in Vera was demolished as illegal in January last year: the Constitutional Court has ruled the proceedings which led to the demolition to be invalid. The court states that the Priors were not informed of those proceedings and were therefore denied their right to effective...

British Hell’s Angel arrested in Altea

Five of the 22 Hell’s Angels arrested across the country on Tuesday, had their headquarters in Altea. The three men and two women were released on police bail after questioning yesterday, despite a pistol ammunition and documents being taken from the home in Pla del Castell.The nationalities of those arrested in Altea are German, British, Belgium and Polish.Police...

Civil Guard are working to identify a body

Civil Guard are working to identify a body which was found in El Ejído on Thursday in the area of Camino Cortés. The find was made at around 6am near local greenhouses.The body is reported to be that of a male, and he is reported to have been shot at least once. The dead man was not carrying any documentati...

Department for Work and Pensions has extended its successful benefit cheats hotline to the Costa del Sol

Department for Work and Pensions has extended its successful benefit cheats hotline to the Costa del Sol and Canary Islands following its launch in Alicante in September 2008.Residents in these popular ex-pat areas can report suspected British benefit thieves to a local number and their concerns will be passed on by the operator of the hotline to a team of investigators...

Amy Fitzpatrick grandmother spoke of her anguish at reports that a body found in Spain might be her beloved grandaughter

Amy Fitzpatrick grandmother of missing teenager Amy Fitzpatrick spoke of her anguish at reports that a body found in Spain might be her beloved grandaughter.Maura Donohoe (80) she suffered a "serious fright" when she saw a TV3 report about an unidentified body found near the town where the 15-year-old girl was last seen before she disappeared on January 1 last year."I got such a fright. I thought it could be Amy," said Maura, speaking at...

Death of thousands of chiringuito restaurants

"Chiringuitos have existed for centuries, far longer than we have had ministries," Norberto del Castillo, of Andalucia's association of beach businesses, said. Campaigners have denounced moves by the environment ministry to close down the thousands of chiringuito restaurants that spring up on beaches at the beginning of summer.Some 30,000 summer jobs and a cherished...

600 shortfall in the number of policemen and women placed across the Costas.

All the police stations in the province have a deficit of numbers which is now described in some places as ‘alarming’. Biggest shortages are seen in Estepona, Torremolinos, Vélez-Málaga and Antequera. Latest data shows the number of National Police in the province is at 81% capacity, 2,492 instead of the 3,067 required.Spokesman from the SUP police union in Málaga, Manuel Expósito, told the Diario Sur newspaper that apart from tourism the...

Juan Carmelo Santana found guilty of murdering a British couple on Fuerteventura has been sentenced to 39 years in prison

Juan Carmelo Santana found guilty of murdering a British couple on Fuerteventura has been sentenced to 39 years in prison for the killings. In a ruling released this Monday reported by the EFE news agency, 42 year old Juan Carmelo Santana has also been ordered to pay 30,000 € compensation to the couple’s son.The jury found the accused guilty on two counts of...

Bernard Madoff, the disgraced New York broker, sent 150 million dollars to a bank in Gib.

Bernard Madoff, the disgraced New York broker, sent 150 million dollars to a bank in Gibraltar. El Mundo reports that the transfer was made in the name of a company based in the Virgin Islands called Vizcaya Partners Ltd. a month before he was arrested.The lawyer given the job of liquidating Madoff’s assets, Irving Picard, is now trying to recover the money from the branch of the Swiss bank, Jabob Safra, on Gibralt...

Elche treasury councillor, Maria Angeles Aviles, could be facing charges of accountancy fraud

Elche treasury councillor, Maria Angeles Aviles, could be facing charges of accountancy fraud, along with the mayor, Alejandro Soler. Elche’s chief prosecutor, Ramon Siles, has announced that the decision to prosecute was taken after it was revealed that Aviles had signed five payments which were judged to be irregular and that Mayor Soler had signed two irregular payments, worth 5,620 euros.The monies in dispute were allegedly used to...

Lee Ward, 28, was killed instantly in a car crash close to Marbella, on the Costa del Sol.

Lee Ward, 28, was killed instantly in a car crash close to Marbella, on the Costa del Sol. His grieving father, entrepreneur and executive Charles, 48, told of his devastation last night. Writing on a Facebook tribute page set up in his son’s memory, he said: “God, how I miss you. You will never leave my thoughts or my heart forever my first born.” Amazingly...

Chiringuito at Bikini Beach to be demolished

Coastal Authority has fined a chiringuito beach restaurant in Estepona 240,000 €, but the local Town Hall is calling for the structure to be demolished. The council says that if the owner of the restaurant does not demolish it himself, they will do so.The chiringuito at Bikini Beach is considered to be guilty of increasing its plot size from 100 to 508 square metres.The regulations from the Coastal Authority, dependant on the Ministry for...

Juan Carlos Juárez, the Mayor of La Línea, faces a possible 28 years in prison

Juan Carlos Juárez, the Mayor of La Línea, faces a possible 28 years in prison following the presentation on Monday of the private accusation in the Roseworld case.It relates to an allegedly illegal procedure in the sale of municipal land to the company Roseworld and its onward sale to another company at a later date. Juárez also faces a 56 year ban from public...

Resale property prices on the Costa del Sol have fallen by upto 20% in some areas, and Mijas down 18.6%, Manilva down 20.7%, Estepona down 17.5%.

Resale property prices on the Costa del Sol have fallen by upto 20% in some areas, and Mijas down 18.6%, Manilva down 20.7%, Estepona down 17.5%, and Torrox down 17%, are all in the list of the top 20 towns in Spain to see the largest reductions in price.Arteixo in A Coruña and San Pedro del Pinatar in Murcia are the places where house prices have fallen the most, by 23.4% and 22%.Marbella and Málaga remain among the most expensive places...

29 year old British man has died and two other people, possibly also British have been injured in a traffic accident in Benahavís near Marbella.

29 year old British man has died and two other people, possibly also British have been injured in a traffic accident in Benahavís near Marbella.The vehicle in which the three were travelling left the road, fell down a drop and burst into flames. One of the occupants was trapped inside and had to be rescued by the fire service.There are reports that one of the injured is 38 years old and one was taken to the Costa del Sol hospital in Marbella...