Sunday People

MAGALUF after mayor vows blitz on booze UK PARTY FIRMS FLOUTING NEW LAWS

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- By Geraldine McKelvie

DRUNKEN teenagers roam the streets, Class A drugs are rife, girls strip for free shots and pub crawl guides pour neat spirits straight down revellers’ throats.

Welcome to Magaluf – the notorious Spanish resort that is as wild and debauched as ever, a year vowing to clean up its disgracefu­l act.

Authoritie­s decided to take a hard line two years ago following outrage over footage of a woman from Northern Ireland performing a sex act on 24 men on a club stage to get a free drink.

Antisocial

Bar crawls with more than 20 people were banned last year and fines brought in for drinking on the streets, public nudity and shops selling alcohol at night.

A few months ago, mayor Alfonso Rodriguez boasted that antisocial behaviour had all but disappeare­d.

But the reality is the new laws are already being flouted by UK holiday firms determined to keep the lucrative party scene alive. The bar crawl we joined was organised by Magaluf Events, with tickets sold through agent Feelsummer.

It was billed as a Thailand-style “full moon party” – events renowned for allnight drinking, drugs and casual sex on the beach. Feelsummer’s website said: “F**k travelling thousands of miles for a full moon party. It’s time for Magaluf to take it to a whole new level.”

Flyers also said shakes laced with psychedeli­c magic mushrooms – a Class A drug in the UK, possession of which can mean seven years in jail – would be given out free to ticket buyers.

Many revellers admitted joining the crawl to get the magic mushrooms, which are legal in Spain for personal use in private. It is an offence to sell or transport them.

Despite the rules on numbers, a rep boasted early in the day that she had already sold nearly 40 of the £35 tickets. By the time revellers met at Crystal’s bar at 9pm, there were around 100.

Many downed cheap shots before the group moved to Mambo’s across the road. And as girls danced by the DJ booth he urged them to strip – despite the nudity ban. “You get a free shot for every nipple exposed!” he screamed, to cheers from the men in the crowd.

Stripped

Around an hour later, reps herded the group to the nearby Beach Club, as a young British man led pals in a chorus of: “Let’s get f***ing w***ered.” The scenes come after Magaluf Events managing director Mark Bottomley said the perception of the resort was “misconstru­ed” and people visit for its music events, not just to booze. But the DJ welcomed the crowd by asking if t here were “any sh*ggers” then bellowed: “Get your tits out!” Nearby, one Magaluf Events employee had already stripped to her underwear on a podium in the pool.

One wide-eyed Brit said: “This is the best weekend I’ve ever had. I’ve been going mad. Drinking is so cheap and you can get drugs everywhere.”

Pints of cocktail were £5 and shots £2. But some revellers didn’t have to pay for drinks. Reps rounded up a hen party and poured spirits into their mouths, urging them to outdrink the blokes.

By midnight many partygoers were barely able to stand.

But reps rounded them up for the final venue – dance club Project, where tickets entitled them to an unlimited free bar.

Magaluf Events was contacted for comment but did not respond.

Agent Feelsummer has also been rocked by controvers­y. Last year, it advertised jobs selling canisters of nitrous oxide – laughing gas – to revellers, boasting they could make “incredible money”. Its use was banned in Magaluf in 2013 and is linked with a spate of deaths.

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