Hi Everyone ,

I have just returned from our beloved Benidorm and i'm feeling quite shook up...

We were in Benidorm last week, stopping in a beachfront apartment right on Levante beach. We had been out on the town on Saturday night and i wasn't feeling particularly well so my sleep pattern was broken and on Sunday morning i just couldn't lay in bed any longer tossing and turning.

So i looked out onto the beachfront from our balcony and it was a beautiful sunny morning with all the usual dog walkers, joggers, police, street cleaners etc.. out and about. I decided to get dressed and told my husband that i was going to go for a walk and see if it would perk me up a bit. He said 'i'd rather you didn't without me' but i could see he was very tired and i just wanted to clear my head so i insisted to him i would be fine as it was broad daylight and there are lots of people buzzing around - i promised that i would stick to the beach front promenade.

I set off at 7.40am along the beachfront (black & white tiles) towards the old town and passed loads of people along the way. I must have passed approx 10 police officers in cars, mopeds etc.. and like i say it was broad daylight so i felt totally at ease and was enjoying my exercise. As i got to the Selomar hotel i decided to cut through towards the ave mediteranian where i turned back towards our apartment. However it was quite dull on the back road as the sun hadn't reached it yet, so i cut back through onto the beachfront (where the Guiness bar is) to get into the bright sunshine again.

I was steadily heading back towards our apartment (it wasapprox 8.10am by now) when someone put their arms around me from behind - my first thought was that it was my husband who had come out to find me, but when i looked down i didn't recognise the hands and jacket, then i thought 'is it my uncle?' (who lives out there) so i was frozen to the spot trying to analyse who it could be. Then i heard a soft voice moaning Spanish words in my ears and started groping me and rubbing himself against me - i turned my head around and a young Spanish lad (approx 17-19) was on my back holding my arms down. I was in absolute shock and tried to wriggle out of his grip saying 'what do you think you are doing?!' - he was still hanging on, then after a struggle he let go and ran off buttoning up his jeans as he went with another friend of his laughing as they strode off up an alley way towards Ave Mediterranian. I didn't know what to do as there didn't seem to be any witnesses at that exact moment apart from a very old Spanish man who just looked away. So i just shouted 'you kn*bh*ads' (quite out of character for me) at them and ran all the way back to our apartment.

As soon as i got in i was in tears and quite hysterical, my husband comforted me and then gave me the full lecture about going out on my own. I am still in shock as i have walked miles over the years up and down that beach front and never felt scared or intimidated. It's not as if i was dressed scantily (i had tracksuit bottoms, flat pumps and a denim jacket buttoned up to the neck with a scarf), it wasn't dark, i wasn't carrying a bag or anything or had any pockets that could have been picked. I'm so glad it didn't happen on a quiet side road as who knows what could have happened then. I just can't belive that i was violated in this way in broad daylight in such an open, lively place. Unfortunately, i have no idea where they started following me from as i didn't look behind me once.

Anyway, it has made me think twice about going out alone and i just wanted to warn other females to watch their backs and be extra vigilant as it appears that this can happen anytime, anywhere. I'm not going to let this sad little pervert put me off the Benidorm I Love so much, but i definitely will be extra careful from now on.

Take Care - F x