El Rincón de
la sala TM
NOW OPEN
s a n
p e d r o
d e
a l c á n t a r a
RESERVATIONS
95 150 6249 INFO@LASALASANPEDRO.COM WWW.LASALASANPEDRO.COM
Pensioner dies in Legionnaires outbreak A PENSIONER has died and three others have been hospitalised after an outbreak of Legionnaires disease. Sprinkler systems and cooling towers are being examined in Osuna, near Sevilla, after an 84-year-old woman died from the disease last week. The first case in the town was a 72-year-old man who was admitted and later discharged from Hospital de la MerTurn to Page 2
Gib border ‘like a war zone’ A BRITISH MP has likened the frontier between Gibraltar and Spain to a ‘war zone’. It came during an urgent House of Commons debate on border delays, which have recently reached up to six hours. “This is an EU border, not a third-world war zone,” said Labour MP Jim Dobbin, slamming Spain’s treatment of the enclave. Minister for Europe David Lidington said the problem was having a ‘direct impact on the prosperity of communities on both sides’, while Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes condemned Spain’s ‘uncivilised and tribal attitude’. Turn to P18 for full story
VISIT OUR EXCITING NEW COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH SECTION ON P.44 The original and only English-language investigative newspaper in Andalucía
the
olive press
FREE
Vol. 6 Issue 146
www.theolivepress.es
The Wedding Runner
Don’t let the Don’t thein bankslet cash banks cash in www.hifx.co.uk www.hifx.co.uk see page 13 seepage page 13 47 see
October 18 - 31, 2012
Couple left thousands out of pocket as leading Costa wedding planner vanishes with deposits
AN Irish couple are taking legal action after their Marbella wedding planner allegedly fled Spain without paying suppliers. The unhappy couple are planning to sue Sue Danker, owner of Spanish Dream Weddings who ‘vanished’ a week before the nuptials
pay for the entire wedding again, understood to total over €15,000. The bride later revealed: “This company left me high last month. and dry on the day of my Unable to contact Danker wedding.” - who starred in Irish TV The couple, who have asked show The Great Escape not to be named, only dis- the couple were left to covered they had a problem when Danker’s husband Howard phoned them with a ‘lame excuse’ that she was not well enough to attend the ceremony. “I had only had a rehearsal the day before and she was fine,” said the bride. “I knew he was lying but was up to my neck in stress, I had no time for nonsense phone calls. “Only 10 minutes later it came out that she hadn’t Full story Page 3
EXCLUSIVE By Mason Jones
EXCLUSIVE: Could President Putin finally have a good reason to strip off...as claims emerge that he has just bought a Marbella mansion?
paid any of the money I sent her for deposits and I was left to foot the bills again,” she added. Several days later, a message appeared on the company’s website stating the business had ‘ceased trading’ before the site was taken down completely.
Sensitive
The Olive Press can reveal that there are numerous other couples, as well as companies, who claim to be owed money by Spanish Dream Weddings. Photographers, florists and DJ’s told the Olive Press that Danker has not paid them for their services. “I have written off ever getting the money,” one Marbella-based DJ explained. “There’s a long list of people who have not been paid, several couples and at least 15 suppliers,” added Jen-
FLED: Wedding planner Sue Danker left Spain just before the big day nifer McCloy from rival company Spanish Wedding Planner. The organiser, who ironically has been attempting to set up a representative body to keep an eye on rogue planners, continued: “There’s a lot of speculation to how this happened and it is a very sensitive subject, which is bad news for the industry.” Another planner, Kerry Vear-Smyth, has been in contact with Danker since her disappearance. “She Turn to Page 8
42