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HORRIFIC: Millions of fish died
Demands for €80m flood aid A VEGA Baja mayor has demanded €80m in flood aid for the devastated Murcia region. Los Alcazares leader Mario Perez Cervera insisted a major flood retention project should be implemented urgently to prevent the sort of serious flooding that happened in September. He told the government in Madrid this week that it is also vital to preserve the Mar Menor, which was badly hit by the so-called Gota Fria. The week of heavy rain led to the deaths of millions of fish and the destruction of dozens of homes. He insisted future floods needed to Continues on Page 10
Right turn A DANGEROUS lurch to the right could see Spain’s anti-immigrant Vox party becoming the kingmakers in this weekend’s general election. The massive surge - off the back of the recent Catalan crisis and a fear of Islam - could see the party seizing 15% of the seats in Parliament. The expected gains will seriously damage centre-right Ciudadanos, which could lose over half its seats, while the ruling PSOE and left wing Podemos are also expected to suffer. Vox, which has pledged to ‘defend’ Spain from immigrants, is predicted to finish third in the country’s fourth general election in as many years. The latest polling suggests Vox, led by Santiago Abascal, will increase its 24 seats in Spain’s 350-seat parliament to 46.
Failed
Meanwhile Albert Rivera’s Ciudadanos will be reduced from 57 to 14. In the 40dB poll Vox is set to gain 14% of the vote, alongside the PP in second place with 21.2% and 91 seats and the PSOE coming first with 27.3% and 121 votes. The PSOE’s predicted victory would see the party with two less seats than in April’s last election, prompting another headache for its leader Pedro Sanchez as he tries to form a government. Opinion page 6
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November 7th - November 20th, 2019
VANISHED!
Duty of care claims after missing British great-grandfather was allowed to leave police station at 3am in clearly disoriented state EXCLUSIVE By Joshua Parfitt
POLICE on the Costa Blanca have been slammed after they allowed a confused and disorientated British great-grandfather to walk out of a police station into the dead of night alone. The family of pensioner Philip Pearce, 68, are demanding answers from Benidorm police over why he was released on September 10, at 3am. They now fear for his life after he has been missing for an alarming two months. And in a shocking email from the British Consulate, seen by the Olive Press this week, there are suggestions of a breach of duty of care. The official email reveals the pensioner had clearly told police he ‘did not remember where he was staying’ nor where he was from in England. Wallet The consulate email also stated Philip was carrying neither his passport nor his wallet when he was taken by a stranger to Benidorm’s Policia Nacional station in the Old Town just after midnight, as CCTV footage confirms. However, what is not clear is how and why he was allowed to leave the station three hours later. “The police are simply not answering our questions,” son Lee Pearce, 41, told the Olive Press last night.
DISAPPEARED: Philip Pearce enjoying a drink (above), while (above right) the last picture of the pensioner in Alicante Airport
“It’s absolutely gut-wrenching for us as a family, not knowing where he is and why he disappeared. “I just want him home so badly. I miss him so much.” Philip was known to be suffering from the early signs of dementia, but was ‘happy and smiling’ when he left for Alicante with a friend and travelling partner. He was having a good holiday until he left his Playa Levante hotel at 5.30pm on September 9 to buy cigarettes before he lost his bearings and was taken to police. Two months on, Lee told the Olive Press a request for ‘a ground search and sniffer dogs’ has gone unanswered, while the family are left searching for answers. “We just need closure on whether my dad is still alive or not,” Lee said. “But apart from claiming to have sent out some drones to look, the police don’t seem to be doing anything at all.” It comes as scores of British residents have spent weeks searching for signs of the grandfa-
ther-of-three. Owner of Alicante Transfers, David McQueen, said he has spent ‘four to five’ hours every day scouring abandoned buildings and traveller communities around the Costa Blanca. “I even sent my dog out with a GoPro camera to search in every bush and in every corner, but we’ve found nothing,” McQueen said. “I’ve got 130 taxi drivers who start at 4am and finish at 2am, but none of the hotels and establishments have seen a sign of Philip.” The family has spent weeks putting up posters and handing out flyers of his missing father around Benidorm with contact details. A spokeswoman for the British Consulate told the Olive Press it ‘does not
comment on individual cases’ such as Philip’s. A Policia Nacional spokesman claimed ‘helicopters’ had been scrambled to search for Philip on various Benidorm hillsides. However, he failed to answer questions about the exact details of his release from the station or whether sniffer dogs and ground searches had been deployed or would be soon. Have you seen Philip? Get in touch at newsdesk@ theolivepress.es
You total doughnut! Find out what’s eating Paul Hollywood on Page 3