The man suffered a knife wound to his back and was taken to hospital in the early hours of the morning. He is said to be doing well and his life is not in danger. Police say three youths have been arrested and face charges of assault, as well as a crime against moral integrity for using their mobile phones to capture the attack.
The incident happened in the tourist resort of Sant Vicent de Raspeig where CCTV cameras helped to identify the three youths.
The British man, who was spending a few days in Alicante on holiday, said he was returning to his accommodation at dawn when he noticed someone was following him.
Three men then approached him with the intention of stealing his wallet and there was a struggle.
One of the youths stabbed the tourist in the back to get his wallet, in addition to his mobile phone.
A passer-by helped the victim and called an ambulance who took him to the hospital.
There he was treated for his injuries.
He suffered a collapsed lung and several stitches were necessary in his back wound.
Police investigating the incident where able to locate several potential witnesses and looked at CCTV images which had picked out the three youths, two of whom had been stopped earlier for routine checks.
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According to reports, the unnamed man had noticed he was being followed and tried unsuccessfully to run to the nearby home that he had just left a few minutes before.
The trio that assaulted him delivered a multitude of blows to knock the man down.
All three robbers are now in custody.
Upon searching the assailant’s homes Police found clothes that matched the description given by the witness and more knives.
All three 16 and 17 year-olds are being held in custody and have been charged with robbery, violence, wounding and a crime against moral integrity (as the attacked was filmed).
The Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office of Alicante is dealing with the case.
The main cities of Spain have seen the greatest amount of stabbings, particularly in Barcelona and Madrid, where this year the government laid on measures to halt the growing trend of violence.
In Barcelona, by the middle of this year, knives had been used in at least 100 crimes, including robberies, brawls, and deaths.
In response, the Catalan government enforced tougher penalties after a surge of knife attacks took place across the region which had persuaded tourists to stay away from the historically popular European destination.