News Archive from Andalucia & Costa del Sol
In association with
Week April 4 to April 10th
BENALMÁDENA
FACES TRAFFIC CHAOS
Second
phase of the underpass gets underway
By David Eade
THE AVENIDA ANTONIO MACHADO, PREVIOUSLY THE OLD N-340 THAT PASSES THROUGH THE HEART OF BENALMÁDENA COSTA IS TO BE REDUCED TO A SINGLE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION FOR A PERIOD OF UP TO NINE MONTHS.
The
road restrictions are necessary as works go ahead on the second
phase to construct an underpass beneath the '24 Hour' square.
The constructors had already started putting into place various
signs notifying drivers of the new road restrictions but delayed
their start to after the Easter holidays. For their part the local
police are also advising road users of various alternative routes
in order to lessen the traffic chaos during the peak summer months.
Apart from road signs within the municipality drivers are also being
advised to avoid the centre of Benalmádena Costa in Torremolinos
to the east and in Carvajal and Los Maites in the west. Traffic
coming from Torremolinos is being advised to go on to the motorway
at the Palacio de Congressos or go via El Pinillo to Arroyo de la
Miel.
The signs at Carvajal and Los Maites advise drivers coming from
Fuengirola to go via the Avenida de Las Palmeras to the Avenida
Mare Nostrum then to the 'Reflejos de un pueblo' roundabout. From
there they can go to Arroyo de la Miel, Benalmádena Pueblo
or the motorway.
FIRST PHASE COMPLETED
The first phase of the underpass project, which has been underway for several months, has now been completed. That was largely confined to the Plaza Solymar and involved the removal of the roundabout, of adjacent garden areas plus the monument without which the construction work could not commence.
WEAR YOUR HELMET
Benalmádena police in conjunction with the forces of Fuengirola
and Mijas are getting excellent results from their campaign targeted
at young motorists. The number of accidents involving mopeds has
reduced by 50 per cent during the first three months of 2002 recording
18, compared to the 41 accidents registered for the same period
of time in 2001. Out of the 333 offenders stopped during March,
24 per cent were fined for not wearing a crash helmet.
BRITONS HELD IN COSTA WIDOW MURDER
By
David Eade
A
British married couple have been arrested by Torremolinos police
in connection with the murder of 63-year-old widow Diana Dyson.
The body of Diana Dyson was discovered at her luxury apartment on
March 10. She had been dead for about three days.
According to police reports the victim had been battered over the
head, stabbed and finally suffocated. Two weeks after finding Mrs
Dyson's body, police raided the arrested couple's Benalmádena
flat, where they found 179 pieces of valuable jewellery previously
owned by Mrs Dyson. Police were able to identify the objects from
photographs and documents found at the victim's home.
Mrs Dyson was the widow of a successful dentist from Sheffield.
She moved to the Costa del Sol several years ago, where she had
lived alone in an apartment in the centre of Torremolinos.
When questioned, Torremolinos police chief Carlos Marquez said: "We believe she may have been killed for her money. The arrested
couple are suspected to have lived off her income after befriending
her."
FAMILIES
LOSE ALL IN RECENT STORMS
La Duquesa homes severely damaged by the sea
By David Eade
TWO FAMILIES IN THE EL CASTILLO AREA OF LA DUQUESA WERE MOVED TO THE DOÑA LUISA HOTEL IN SABINILLAS AFTER HIGH WAVES SWAMPED THEIR HOMES OVER EASTER.
The
families whose dwellings were close to the beach lost all the possessions.
Furniture and new kitchen fittings for which one of the families
was paying for in instalments were lost to the sea. In addition
to the homes, nearby beach restaurants were also damaged by the
high seas.
The councillors of town planning and beaches, Pedro Tirado, and
Image and Promotion, Francisco Miguel Alvarez, both went to El Castillo
to oversee the emergency work. They sought help from construction
company Ferrovial who provided earth moving equipment and the quarry
company in Manilva supplied lorries so that rocks could be moved
to reinforce the sea defences.
RESIDENTS SPEAK UP
The residents of El Castillo have vented their anger at the damage done by the latest storms adding that they had been suffering this problem for many years. They pointed out that they had complained on numerous occasions and criticised the various public bodies that had done nothing to solve the problems suffered by El Castillo. The Town Hall has stated it is seeking an urgent meeting with the Coastal Authority to seek an immediate solution.
JEWELLERY ROBBERS STRIKE AGAIN
By David Eade
Jewel
thieves have struck again, this time at the Joyería Ruiz
in the Calle Real in the centre of Estepona. The raiders entered
the shop by making a 27 by 37 centimetre hole in the wall of an
adjacent house and entered the jewellers at ceiling height. They
then made off with a haul of jewellery and watches with an estimated
value of more than 150,000 euros.
The raid was discovered by the shop's owner María Isabel
Vázquez and her family. They had been taking a coffee in
a nearby ice cream parlour when her son noticed that the door of
the abandoned house next to the shop was open. When they went to
look inside they found a hole in the wall at the top of the stairs.
The raiders had left the jewellery shop via the hole and had not
set off the burglar alarm in the process. They completely cleared
out the shop window display making off with watches, gold chains,
earrings, rings and other valuable items.