7 - 13 December 2017
A XARQUÍA - C OSTA T ROPICAL
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
No Xmas cheer for job seekers UNEMPLOYMENT figures in Malaga continue to grow for the fourth consecutive month. The province currently has more than 158,330 job seekers, the second-most in Spain after the Balearic Islands. The number of unemployed people rose by 3 per cent in November with a further 4,566 out of work. This increase, which is the largest in November since 2012, is being blamed on seasonal jobs made redundant after the summer season.
Baby killer jailed A MOTHER has been jailed for five years after killing her baby in Malaga City. The accused, who was 17 when she committed the crime, will serve a further three years’ probation after leaving prison. She was found guilty of hitting the child on the head and chest after giving birth in a public bathroom. The woman says she was unaware she was pregnant and fell after giving birth. The girl was arrested after paramedics found the infant in a car.
Avocado theft fear AVOCADO farmers across Axarquia are employing private security firms as prices rocket. The fruit is currently selling above €2.50 per kilo on the wholesale market, sparking a raft of robberies. And producers are now chipping in to pay for armed guards to patrol their properties after thousands of kilos were stolen.
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ISSUE NO. 1692
80-METRE DROP: The Nerja motorway bridge.
Life saver Officer foils suicide bid By Matt Ford A police officer from Nerja has been hailed after preventing a suicide attempt. It comes after the dramatic incident unfolded on the A-7 motorway bridge over the Chillar River, where a Guardia Civil patrol spotted a man standing on the outside of the crash barrier, dangerously close to the edge. After parking on the hard shoulder, the two officers started a conversation with the 41-year-old, who was threatening to leap into the void.
Eventually, one of the pair was able to approach the panicked individual and chatted with him for over half an hour in an attempt to calm him down. He said that he had serious money problems brought on by his gambling addiction, and that he intended to commit suicide by jumping off the 80-metre high bridge. After moving within a metre of the man, the officer managed to grab and wrestle him to the ground. The officer, who wishes to remain anonymous, said in the wake of the incident: “It
was extremely tense, really unpleasant, because he made his intentions very clear, and it was a miracle that he didn’t drag me over the edge when I grabbed his arm.” A second traffic unit helped direct traffic throughout the rescue, and the man was tak-
en to a nearby medical centre for treatment after suffering a panic attack. The incident is likely to spark renewed calls for improved security measures on Axarquia’s motorway bridges following a spate of suicides in 2017.
Mayor denies collusion NERJA’S mayor has sworn to a judge she knew nothing about the town’s illegal landfill. The investigation into the Rio de la Miel dump continues as Mayor Rosa Arrabal told a court in Torrox she had no knowledge of the site until August 31 2016, 16 days before it was shut down. Nerja’s councillor for the Environment, Jorge Bravo, also denied receiving any complaints about the dump. The site, which is located in the National Park of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama, to the east of Nerja, was previously a municipal quarry but was used as a dumping ground for 16 years. In October it was announced 34 people have been summoned to a Torrox court to be questioned after potentially toxic materials were found at the site.