A British mother has claimed that she was thrown across a dance floor and kicked in a ‘horrendous’ unprovoked attack at the hands of a bouncer at a nightclub in a Spanish holiday hotspot.
Charlotte Benson, 31, told MailOnline this week that she was shoved to the ground before being repeatedly kicked in the ribs during a night out in Benidorm, Alicante.
Pictures of her injuries show visible bruising on her body and a black eye. Mrs Benson, from Shropshire, West Midlands, also claims she sustained internal bruising during the alleged attack.
The ‘unprovoked’ attack is alleged to have occurred on Friday, March 28 at The Red Lion bar. MailOnline contacted The Red Lion and the National Police force prior to publication but received no response to a request for comment.
Mrs Benson explained how she and a group of friends were planning a trip to Liverpool but decided to fly out to Benidorm on a whim because it worked out cheaper.
After enjoying a ‘lovely day’ on Friday they headed to the resort’s party strip and ended up in The Red Lion.
Mrs Benson, head of operations at a tech company in the UK, claims that when she was coming back from the bathroom she ‘suddenly felt a huge force shove her onto the floor’.
She said: ‘I must have flown half way across the dance floor, I hit the front of my head as I fell and then I just felt a boot in the ribs. I curled up into the fetal position and he kept hitting my ribs and stomach.’
Charlotte Benson, 31, (pictured with her husband) from Shropshire, West Midlands, has claimed that she was thrown across a dance floor and kicked in the ribs in a ‘horrendous’ unprovoked attack at a nightclub in Benidorm, Spain
Mrs Benson claims the ‘unprovoked’ attack occurred on Friday, March 28 at The Red Lion nighclub in Benidrom (pictured). She claims that when she was coming back from the bathroom she ‘suddenly felt a huge force shove her onto the floor
Photos shared with MailOnline show visible bruising on her body (pictured) and a black eye
Mrs Benson, who is 5ft 2ins and weighs eight stone, said she finally managed to get up and was shocked to turn around to see a ‘six-foot tall meathead’ staring at her.
Realising it was one of the bouncers she shouted ‘what have I done?’, to which he allegedly replied by ‘screaming’ at her to ‘get the f*** out!’, before allegedly shoving her again.
Mrs Benson and her friends called an ambulance and the police to their hotel to report the crime.
She said: ‘It was horrific, the paramedics rolled their eyes and wouldn’t admit me so I had to take myself to a private hospital for scans, where they found internal bruising.’
Mrs Benson added: ‘The police did not want to know and said there was nothing they could do and that I should report it to the English speaking station the next day.’
However, when she arrived on Saturday, she discovered that they are closed on the weekends, a fact she branded ‘ridiculous’ given that most crimes are likely to happen then.
While Mrs Benson was able to speak to police at the airport before her flight, she claims ‘there was just no compassion’.
‘They just see you as another pissed up Brit abroad and acted like I deserved it,’ she said, ‘We are all married mums in our 30s with good jobs, we were not there to cause trouble.
‘I know justice won’t be done, I’ve accepted that, I just want people to know how dangerous it is before going out there.’
Mrs Benson, whose eye can be seen in this photograph, claims the attack was by a man working as a bouncer at The Red Lion
Mrs Benson and her friends called an ambulance and the police to their hotel to report the crime. She claims the paramedics ‘rolled their eyes and wouldn’t admit me so I had to take myself to a private hospital for scans, where they found internal bruising’. Pictured is a bruise on her leg which Mrs Benson allegedly sustained during the attack
The Red Lion did not respond immediately respond to MailOnline’s request for comment, but in a post on their Facebook page said: ‘Every busy club has there (sic) own problems most of them can be solved without any harm.
‘Sometimes because of the circumstances or the people it does get rough just like in any other nightclub of the world.
‘Measures in Benidorm are like no where else and not here or anywere (sic) does security hit for no reason there’s always 2sides to every story.
‘Every day we get handed bags,phones,hotel keys/cards etc and most of them are returned to there owners obv not all phones are lost here theres (sic) another 50clubs/pubs/bars so not everyone is lucky or not all of them always get handed to the staff.
‘I just want to say dont listen to comments or people and just enjoy ur holidays in Benidorm and try places for yourselfs theres (sic) something for everyone in Benidorm if u dont like a place simple just try another.’
Mrs Benson responded to the bar’s statement, telling MailOnline today: ‘I think it’s disgusting that they have made it almost into a joke, and they have tried to justify using violence on people that are drunk.
‘I wasn’t drunk, and if they’d hand over the CCTV that would confirm it was unprovoked.’
She added: ‘People just need to know it’s not a safe place and all I want is awareness raised.’
