Joe Snowball, 22, has told how he had gone to a bar in Benidorm and claims he had started to film his friend dancing when suddenly he was told to stop and pepper sprayed
A Brit tourist claims he was pepper sprayed by a bouncer “for filming his mate dancing” at a bar in a popular holiday hotspot.
Joe Snowball head to Benidorm on September 8 to film content with two of his friends for a video on the resort. The 22-year-old said the three were drinking on their last night when a man approached them and led them to a different bar.
But when Joe started filming his dancing pal, a waitress reportedly demanded he delete the video from his phone. Joe said she took his phone and tried to use his face ID, but when he said he could delete the video himself a bouncer allegedly pepper sprayed him and his friend.
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Footage shows the grimacing blokes with bloodshot eyes sitting outside the bar as milk is repeatedly poured over their heads in a bid to relieve the burning pain. Joe said his face and eyes were stinging from the pepper spray, taking two days to recover, while his friend had to go to A&E back in the UK.
He claims he tried to speak to the police in Benidorm but says they ignored him and simply drove away. Joe, from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, said: “We managed to get great content and we wanted to celebrate, we had too much to drink.
“A guy approached as we left one of the bars, we were drunk, we didn’t really know what we were doing so we followed him. He said we can get free drinks and entry in this bar.
“We got some drinks and I started filming my mate who was dancing but they didn’t allow filming in there. One of the waitresses took my phone, deleted it, and obviously they have to go to the recently deleted folder.
“She tried to use my face ID and I said ‘I’ll do it myself’, next thing you know a big bouncer comes and pepper sprays my mate and me. Now I can’t delete the video because I can’t see. I gave the phone to the guy who pepper sprayed me and said ‘delete the video, here is my passcode’.
“I was basically blind for the next hour. I was shocked, I didn’t know what to expect, I had just been pepper sprayed and then the pain got worse and worse. We sat outside the club. One of my mates was pouring water in my eyes, that didn’t work, my face was on fire. I couldn’t see, my throat hurt, I was coughing.
“One of the guys in the corner shop told us to put milk on our face so we tried that for the next hour. My mate got it really bad. He went to the eye doctor and he had something wrong with his cornea, so he had to take lots of drops.
“The next day I was wearing sunglasses because my eyes were very sensitive to light but within two days I was fine. They spray it and you instantly can’t open your eyes, it’s like someone’s rubbed the spiciest chilli around your entire face.
“It wasn’t just my eyes that were hurting, it was my forehead, my cheeks, my skin was stinging. I was blind so didn’t know what was going on, which made me nervous. I didn’t expect it one bit, I was massively shocked, I was very vulnerable.
“I guess they really didn’t want filming in there. I could still feel the pepper spray on my body two to three days later. I went to the police an hour later and they just ignored me and drove away, which makes me think that club is just dodgy.”
Joe said he wasn’t able to find the bar online and that the place was boarded up when he went there the next morning. The content creator claimed Benidorm lived up to its reputation as the worst holiday destination in Europe. He added that he has lost some trust in nightlife staff and is more cautious now when he goes out.
Joe said: “The video was about surviving the worst rated European holiday. The three of us went and we wanted to document what it would be like to go out on the strip in Benidorm. On Google Maps it says it’s a dance bar but has no reviews, we went there the next morning and it was all boarded up in the day like it didn’t exist.
“I don’t think I’ll drink as much next time so I can be in more control of my body. It [Benidorm] lived up to my expectations, I would say it’s the worst, I have never gotten pepper sprayed anywhere before. The people there are friendly but there is a dark side and if you’re not careful you’ll be caught up in it.
“Don’t argue with any of the bouncers, just accept they own the place and you’ll have a good time. The trust has gone a little bit, I went to Malta the next week and I was really cautious there. When I go abroad now, I don’t mess around with the bouncers. It made some content, but if I was just on a lads holiday it would have ruined the trip.”
The Spanish Guardia (police) were contacted for comment.