Charlie Smith
A BUSY strip of restaurants has seen fighting, urination and vomit during the first few days of Phase 1.
Revellers tasting their new-found freedom during the first step of Spain’s lockdown exit plan have been tearing up the Costa del Sol.
Shocking images have revealed how ‘dozens’ of people became involved in a mass brawl, which left a man ‘wounded’ on the ground.
Litters bins and chairs were used as weapons in the huge scrap on Malaga’s Paseo de Pedregalejo last night, Diario Sur reported.
Police arrived on the promenade at around midnight to break up trouble, which apparently originated between two tables that got into an argument.
The conflict snowballed as more people joined in the fight outside the bars on the coastal strip east of the city, with the incidents being captured in footage later posted to social media.
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Officers were called to break up trouble at least three times and it wasn’t until a Policia Nacional patrol was dispatched to the scene that law and order was restored.
This outbreak of violence came just one night after blood was shed in a vicious knife fight at Steve’s Bar in Torrenueva.
The 12-person brawl saw six British expats arrested, while according to the SunOnline one reveller was left with his ‘guts hanging out’.
In Pedregalejo vomit and urine was also discovered on Monday – a marked contrast to the rest of the Costa del Sol, which has generally enjoyed its entrance into Phase 1 in peace.
Tissues and other ‘hygiene items’ were also discovered the morning after, according to Malaga Hoy.
The paper attributed this to the limited access to toilets in bars and restaurants under the strict new measures outlined in Phase 1.
One resident told the paper that there would be a ‘public health problem’ in the area, after human waste was also discovered in nearby alleys and on the beach.
Police in the neighbourhood also doled out the first fines yesterday, although these were for restaurant-goers waiting for tables.
As well as clear hygiene issues, Pedregalejo also sufferers from a very narrow paseo running parallel to the beach.
Over the years it has therefore become customary for diners waiting to be seated to congregate on the low wall opposite terraces.
However this is now being penalised, as those eating out or going for a drink are required to practice social distancing.
Policia Local officers have even removed some tables in the area during the last couple of days, while a ‘very narrow’ 100-metre-long section identified as a particular cause for concern.
Local business-owners have called on Malaga City Council to allow them to extend terraces sideways with the consent of neighbours, in a bid to maintain their flows of customers safely.
