Mother-of-two claims her £2,500 Benidorm holiday hotel room was raided by teenage thugs
A mother-of-two has revealed details of the horrific moment teenage thugs raided the expensive Benidorm hotel room she was holidaying in with her young family.
Becca Farley, 27, was staying in the Spanish tourist hotspot with her partner, six-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter when she caught strangers in her room.
The family, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, had paid £2,500 for their week-long stay.
On the last night, with signs around the hotel warning of a power cut, Ms Farley headed to the room to charge their phones before their flight home.
Two teenagers then entered the lift with her and pressed the button for the same floor her room was on.
'I honestly didn't think anything of it because there's five rooms per floor so I just assumed they were going to one of them,' she said.
However, when the lift doors opened the thugs walked out in front of her and straight into her room, which had the door wedged open by a shoe.
Ms Farley said: 'I thought oh s**t I have obviously got off on the wrong floor, what a palaver I'm going to have to wait for the lift again. But it was the right floor. It happened all quite quickly and they just strolled straight in.'
She bravely followed the boys into the room, which she said in hindsight she shouldn't have done due to 'horror stories' of others doing the same and it then turning sour.
'But I just didn't really think and went straight into the room and shouted "what are you doing in my room?",' she added.
When one of the intruders shouted at her in Spanish, Ms Farley repeatedly screamed: 'Get the f**k out' until they ran off.
But, the brazen pair returned minutes later and started banging on the door while she stayed locked inside in an 'absolutely petrified' state.
She said: 'I know it sounds silly and people have said you should have done this, you should have locked them in the room, you should have decked them but at that moment I think it was just that invasion of privacy.
'This is supposed to be your safe place when you are away, you're away from home, we don't travel all that often so we were really shaken.'
Ms Farley said she was unable to get any sleep that night because she was 'flinching at every noise'.
She added that if the raid had happened earlier on in the week, she and her partner would have cut their stay short and flown home.
The terrified mother reported the incident to hotel security, when she discovered another family had experienced a similar break-in and had passports, watches and other valuables stolen.
Now, she's warning other tourists planning on visiting Spain: 'I would advise just to be alert.
'A lot of people have said we were scaremongering people not to go away, not at all.
'We will certainly go on holiday again, but I think it's just having that awareness that if you are a lone woman, please be careful.
'I'm very lucky that I'm OK but I think it's just a case of having your wits about you a bit more.
'When you go on holiday you tend to relax and become a little bit naive to these situations.'
She also recommends locking valuables in suitcases with padlocks.
'Obviously keep your valuables safe. I know some people say don't use the safes, we personally lock all of ours and padlock them in our suitcases.
'I think it's just about knowing not to get comfortable in somewhere you've never been before.'
Although she plans to continue travelling, Becca said she'll now take extra precautions.
'I'm considering getting a webcam that you can put in your room next time we go away. I will carry on locking my stuff away. I would never take the kids away on my own.
'I certainly wouldn't have cleaners in my room ever again, not to say it definitely was them but they have access to your room.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
29 minutes ago
- BBC News
Fan who racially abused Wreh banned for three years
A football fan who racially abused non-league striker Chris Wreh has been banned from attending matches for three Dunbar, from Fareham, Hampshire, admitted to sending Wreh a racist direct message from an anonymous Instagram account following Tamworth's FA Cup third-round defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on 12 20-year-old supporter was later found to be behind the social media account by digital investigators and subsequently claimed he had sent the message to Wreh in a moment of anger after losing a bet on the match, which Tottenham won 28-year-old refused to play for National League side Tamworth following the incident. He wrote on X, external two days after the game that he was supported by manager Andy Peaks but was "disappointed" the club did not make a public statement condemning the abuse he had who is the son of former Arsenal player Christopher Wreh, moved to Scunthorpe United on loan in February before signing permanently for National League South side Maidenhead United a month later. 'No place for racism' Senior crown prosecutor Gavin Sumpter said: "Harry Dunbar lost a simple bet, and in a moment of anger, chose to break the law."Dunbar's actions in personally targeting Mr Wreh with such vile and hateful language whilst hiding behind an anonymous account were inexcusable and had a significant impact on the victim."We hope that this case makes it clear to like-minded individuals that such behaviour will not be tolerated. "Individuals who act in this way can expect to be investigated and where there is sufficient evidence prosecuted and banned from attending games."Dunbar was also given a 12-month community order and instructed to carry out 200 hours unpaid work, increased from 150 hours due to the racial element, the Crown Prosecution Service was also ordered to attend 10 rehabilitation days and pay costs of £85.
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Adam Abdul-Hamid: How this mummy's boy grew up to be accused of the shocking gang rape that has horrified Australia - as more vile details of teenage girl's alleged ordeal emerge
Growing up with his Lebanese immigrant family in social housing in western Sydney, Adam Abdul-Hamid showed every sign of embracing the Aussie dream. Now the 19-year-old barber is accused of the shocking gang rape of a teenage girl. Abdul-Hamid - along with three other teens, aged 14, 16 and 17 at the time, who Daily Mail Australia can't name due to their age - is alleged to have assaulted and terrorised the victim in her car over a six-hour period on December 15. In total, the four face 64 sickening charges over the alleged attack, including multiple counts of rape and sexual assault, with the 16-year-old alone accused of raping her nine times during the ordeal. Dramatic police footage showed Abdul-Hamid being arrested at his Heckenberg home on Tuesday, while his family protested and swore. One of Abdul-Hamid's sisters screamed at police, 'don't sexual assault me', as she jostled with the officers. Detectives arrested the 17-year-old man, now aged 18, at a Sadleir property, also in Sydney's southwest, on the same day. The two other alleged offenders, a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old boy (who was 14 at the time), were arrested on December 20 and are also remanded in custody. Abdul-Hamid, described as a 'quiet' presence in the suburban cul-de-sac where he lived for years, has had an active online presence since he was about nine years old. Videos he posted to social media as a youngster showed him dancing, lip-syncing and kicking a footy, sometimes wearing his Sadleir Public School uniform or a Canterbury Bulldogs jersey. On one of his accounts, he proudly displayed a photo of himself hugging his mother tightly. As the self-described 'soulja of Allah' grew older, the content he shared changed to photos of him doing wheelies on a dirt bike on the streets of Sydney's west, working out, or showing off his physique with his hair tied up in his distinctive ponytail. Last year he started working as a barber at Blurry Blends Barbershop, a business apparently registered in his sister's name. The shop was located on Norfolk St in Liverpool, at the shopping centre where police say his alleged victim's ordeal began later that year. Social media accounts for the business have been scrubbed since Abdul-Hamid's arrest on Tuesday. In the December 15 incident, a 17-year-old girl was allegedly approached by a 16-year-old boy at 5.30pm at a shopping centre in Liverpool, 31km southwest of Sydney's CBD. The 'charismatic' 16-year-old allegedly followed the girl to her car and she reluctantly let him inside before he began sexually assaulting her,' police allege. A short time later, the male asked to be driven 5km to Wheat Park in Sadleir, to which the victim agreed on the understanding he would get out of the car when they arrived. At the park, two other males entered the car, and they also allegedly sexually assaulted the girl. A fourth male then arrived in another vehicle, and the alleged sexual assault continued as the girl was driven around 'erratically', with one of the alleged attackers at the wheel. The six-hour ordeal ended about 11.30pm when the males departed and left the girl in her car. The teenager immediately contacted a friend who took her to Liverpool Police Station to report the attack. 'It beggars belief that in this day and age men would think to act this way towards a girl,' said Sex Crime Squad commander Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty. 'The four of them [allegedly] acted together, creating fear on the victim, degrading her, whilst the others offended against her, and at times, there was more than one person offending against this poor young girl,' she added. 'They haven't stopped at any point during that six hours and said, "This is wrong" to any of their co-offenders. 'That's the difficult part to come to terms with - that four people could act together and keep going at that type of offending over such a long time.' Abdul-Hamid was listed to appear for the first time at Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday morning. His solicitor Muhammad Tehseldar made no application for bail but said he would be making a release order application for Abdul-Hamid in coming days. Outside court, Mr Tehseldar said Abdul-Hamid maintained his innocence and it would be inappropriate to make any further comment. The case was adjourned to Campbelltown Local Court on August 13.
BreakingNews.ie
36 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Man who sent racist social media message to footballer banned from all games
A man who sent a 'vile and disgusting' racist message to a professional footballer on social media has been banned from attending any matches for three years, police said. Harry Dunbar, 20, from Fareham, Hampshire, sent racial slurs via Instagram to Christopher Wreh, following an FA Cup match between Tamworth and Tottenham Hotspur on January 12th. Advertisement When interviewed by police, Dunbar admitted sending the message because he had lost a bet, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said. Police said Wreh had come on as a substitute for Tamworth in the game. When he later checked his Instagram, he found he had received a message from an account he did not know called 'Dunztagram'. Shocked, he posted a screenshot of the message including the username and then shared it on his social media. Advertisement 'After an amazing day today, this is the last thing I expected to see when I opened Instagram,' he wrote in the post. 'Nevertheless, thank you for all the support today. Fans were unreal.' This post was viewed more than 1.7 million times, and Wreh was contacted and sent personal messages by others who identified the account holder as Dunbar, who was living in Hampshire at the time. Wreh shared this with the dedicated football officer (DFO) for Tamworth at Staffordshire Police, who then passed this on to the UK Football Policing Unit and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary's dedicated Football Unit. Advertisement Dunbar, in Whiteley, was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated malicious communications and his phone was seized. Although the Instagram account had been removed, it was identified that he was the owner of the 'Dunztagram' account'. In interview he then admitted sending the message because he had lost a bet. Dunbar was sentenced at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, where he was handed a three-year football banning order, a 12-month community order of 200 hours unpaid work, and 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days. Advertisement Superintendent Adrian Hall, head of the operations unit for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, said: 'Just because Christopher Wreh was a footballer, Dunbar decided he had the right to send him a tirade of racist insults. 'Nobody should ever be subjected to such vile and disgusting abuse, regardless of what they do for a living. 'I am absolutely appalled by the racist language used by Dunbar, but immensely thankful to Christopher Wreh for his bravery in standing up to this horrible abuse and assisting the police investigation. 'Thanks to Christopher, this man will not have the privilege of going to football matches and that is an important result from this case, as racism doesn't belong in football stadiums or anywhere else in society.' Advertisement The Football Banning Order means Dunbar, of John Bunyan Close, is banned from every football ground in the country and unable to travel abroad when international games are happening for a period of three years.
