This is the shocking moment a security guard at a Costa del Sol pool club popular with British holidaymakers slapped two women during a violent ruckus as others tried to steal phones from onlookers recording the incident.
The commotion unfolded at the Nao Pool Club in Marbella, when a crowd of revellers spilled into the car park.
A security team dressed in black trousers and white polo-necks were dispatched to calm the situation, but one particularly burly guard took umbrage when a slender woman in a green dress appeared to swing her handbag at him.
Blocking her bag, he retaliated with a violent slap that clouted the side of her head, and moments later launched an even more erratic swing at a second woman who came to her defence, hitting her square on the cheek and sending her stumbling away.
A British tourist who recorded the incident also appeared to catch on film how one of the bouncer’s colleagues surged into the crowd, attempting to seize the phones of shocked onlookers who had also filmed the slaps.
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Security guard is seen smacking a woman in a green dress who tried to swing her bag at him
Moments later he delivered a devastating slap to a second woman who ran in to intervene
The slaps prompted screams from shocked onlookers
Security guards try to separate quarrelling revellers in the car park of the club
Several onlookers were filming the incident on their phones when another security guard surged into the crowd to confiscate their devices
Nao Pool Club is pictured
The UK-based holidaymaker claimed she was assaulted by one member of the security team.
‘They tried to snatch my phone for recording them and the security guard tried fighting me and my friend, grabbed a chair to try to hit me and my friend for recording.
‘He attacked (another onlooker) for recording, snatched his phone and said he won’t give it back unless he deleted it.’
The disgruntled reveller also posted a photo of the guard she claimed had assaulted her.
He was wearing an earpiece and the same uniform as the bouncer who was filmed slapping the two women in the car park.
‘This is the fat b****** that tried attacking me and my friend for recording his co workers slapping women. Wtf.’
She went on to repost a response from a Leeds-based social media user, following an online debate about who started things, which said: ‘It’s already been stated that the woman was assaulted FIRST.
‘But the fact that you guys think it’s okay for big ass f**king men to consistently slap and take property because they got hit with a small bag is genuinely insane.’
Another social media user went on to claim the pool club at the centre of the controversy, which could not be reached for comment early this morning, ‘allowed security to slap customers in the face’ before adding: ‘Marbella isn’t a real place.’
Nao Pool Club, which is in the residential area of Nueva Andalucia in Marbella, describes itself on its website as the ‘hottest and trendiest’ pool club in town.
No-one was picking up the phone at the cllub this morning and an emailed request for comment went unanswered.
Footage of the bust-up emerged after a dramatic police raid at another beach club just down the road on the seafront in Puerto Banus on Saturday afternoon.
Revellers stand and take a photo as police enter the famous Ocean Club in Marbella
The national police force enters the site at Puerto Banus on May 25, 2024
Some 20 police officers were seen pacing through the resort over the Bank Holiday weekend
There, holidaymakers in their swim shorts and bikinis looked on in disbelief as armed officers wearing body armour crashed the famous Ocean Club in the Marbella resort of Puerto Banus in a broad-daylight raid under a glorious blue sky.
Tourists packing out the ‘beautiful people’ venue, which over the weekend held one of two annual champagne parties popular with Bank Holiday visitors from the UK, were urged to keep calm.
Police issued loudspeaker messages in Spanish and English saying: ‘This is just a routine check. The minute we finish you can continue enjoying your afternoon.
‘Don’t worry, there’s nothing serious going on.’
But the images of the operation, which lasted nearly two hours and also involved a police helicopter which hovered overhead after officers moved in, showed why some revellers were left uneasy about their holidays being interrupted in such a radical way.
One clubber is understood to have been arrested, although police have not yet commented officially on the reason for the detention.
The spectacular club raid followed a string of shootings in the area, sparking the launch of the so-called Operation Marbella last month to keep British and Irish tourists safe.
Police warned locals and visitors at the time they could expect to see more random stops and police checkpoints in and around the holiday destination.
A police officer appears to usher holidaymakers out of the way during the sudden ‘checks’
Revellers can only look on bemused as the gaggle of officers conduct their sweep
Ocean Club managers said in a statement after Saturday’s raid: ‘We would like first and foremost to express our gratitude towards our clients who were patient and willing to cooperate with the authorities during this unexpected turn of events.
‘In recent weeks the Spanish police have launched ‘Operation Marbella’ in light of recent happenings along the Costa.
‘This plan of action has been put into place to protect our citizens in order to make sure Marbella remains a safe haven for visitors.
‘Over the last months, the press has shone a less than desirable light on our cherished town and this plan aims to return Marbella to its former glory.
‘In order to do this, law enforcement are increasing police presence and performing surprise raids in various establishments along the coast over the coming months.
‘We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused our esteemed clients and hope for understanding as these incidents are out of our control.’
One of the shootings that occurred in and around Marbella this year was a March 11 attack on British-run eatery La Sala near Puerto Banus that led to the arrests in April of a British man and Irish national described by police as having links to organised crime.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, a 33-year-old man was shot on a residential estate a short drive from Puerto Banus, just across the Marbella municipal border in the neighbouring municipality of Estepona.
No arrests have yet been made. Around ten shell casings thought to have been fired from an AK-47 were reportedly found on the ground at the scene.
Fernando Bentabol, the prosecutor in charge of combatting narco crime in the province of Malaga, shone the spotlight on its dark underbelly in a recent newspaper interview by likening it to Medellin.
Locals have branded parts of Marbella like Puerto Banus the ‘Wild West’.