Riot police to be deployed to Benidorm ahead of World Cup surge from the UK

Sport

Local council orders major security blitz as flight bookings jump 16 per cent from British football fans escaping expensive trips to America

Gerard Couzens

Riot police will be sent to Benidorm as part of a World Cup security operation in the famous Brit-popular holiday hotspot.

The Costa Blanca resort’s council has also announced evening and night-time police reinforcements after confirming the expected influx of UK tourists choosing to follow the football there.

Racing fans put off by the Cheltenham Festival high prices have flocked to Benidorm in increasingly larger numbers in recent years to enjoy the sunshine and cheap beer deals.

And this year’s World Cup has already led to an increase in air capacity of more than 16 per cent during the first phase of the competition, local officials say.

The first details of the “special operation” in Benidorm that is being prepared for the tournament, which starts on June 11 and ends on July 19, was announced overnight after a meeting between police and councillors yesterday to coordinate the response of local authorities.

A spokesman for Benidorm Town Council confirmed: “Both local police employed by the town hall and National Police will reinforce afternoon and evening/night-time shifts from June 11 to July 19, the competition’s start and end dates.”

Referencing a National Police unit consisting of highly-trained officers specialising in maintaining public order which acts as a mobile security force deployed across Spain’s largest cities who are often brought in to manage protests and high-risk sporting events, he added: “The presence of members of the National Police’s Alicante UIP unit is also planned in Benidorm.

“The operation will be adapted according to the evolution of the tournament.”

Jesus Carrobles, Benidorm’s Councillor for Citizen Security and Public Service, added: “Sporting competitions always generate great interest and bring together large numbers of fans, both residents and visitors, in public spaces and leisure and service establishments.

“During the World Cup dates, an increase has been detected in the number of airline seats reserved on flights to Alicante, especially from the United Kingdom, so it is expected that many tourists and fans will choose to enjoy this sporting event in our town.

“This increase in air capacity is estimated at 16.4 per cent during the dates of the World Cup’s first phase, specifically from June 11 to June 27.

“Both the local police and the National Police police will work jointly to reinforce surveillance units, and an information campaign will be carried out.”

It was reported late last year bookings for flights to Benidorm had rocketed “four-fold” amid fury at rip-off World Cup trips to the US which is one of the three countries staging this year’s competition.

Flight comparison website Kiwi.com said at the time: “We have seen an unseasonal spike in bookings for next summer.

“The growth to Alicante for Benidorm is particularly steep at over 300 per cent.”

Last December TUI was advertising a five-night trip to Benidorm leaving from Bristol airport on June 14 for POUNDS 449 - POUNDS 74 less than a Category 1 ticket to England’s Croatia opener on June 17 in Dallas.

As well as Benidorm where its famous Little England area is expected to attract the most football fans, England and Scotland fans are set to descend on Magaluf in Majorca and the Costa del Sol.

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