This is the terrifying moment Brits in a Spanish holiday hotspot were chased by a furious driver for over a mile on a motorway, before being rammed off it.
In dramatic scenes caught on a phone camera and on CCTV near Palma airport in Mallorca, British holidaymakers were left quaking in their boots when a rogue local endangered their lives with his driving.
CCTV footage captured the moment the reckless driver, who has not yet been identified, dangerously swerved round the left-side of the tourist’ car and rammed them off the road as they tried to get onto a motorway.
A second angle shows the car of tourists were forced to reverse down a one-way road to avoid being attacked, but the local man put his motor in reverse before chasing after them.
The tourists’ car can be seen bucking as it was crashed into, before the local sped away from the scene of the crime.
Phone footage from inside the vehicle showed a female tourist crying as the white SUV sped in reverse at the car she was in, as she tried to find out what Spain‘s emergency number was to call the police.
The pursuit continued for another mile, with the attacker making ‘several reckless manoeuvres’ police said
The Son Oms site neighbours Palma de Mallorca Airport, with a multitude of car rental firms
She could be heard wailing as the car crashed into them. The local man was then seen angrily raising his middle finger at the tourists before driving away.
The incident on April 19 comes amid a backlash against tourism on Mallorca.
The two drivers had had an argument minutes before at the Son Oms industrial estate, according to a statement from the Guardia Civil.
The Son Oms site neighbours Palma de Mallorca Airport, with a multitude of car rental firms.
The statement continued: ‘The victim stopped the vehicle at one of the entrances to the highway, reversing, to escape from the other driver.
The angry local man can be seen raising a middle finger at the tourists
The tourists were forced to reverse down a one-way road to avoid being crashed into
‘At that moment the vehicle that was pursuing him also reversed until it crashed intentionally, causing numerous damages to both vehicles.
‘After a complaint was received* the agents located the driver, who is being investigated for the crime of reckless driving, and another for damages.’
While the motivation behind the reckless attack is still not known, anti-tourism sentiment is on the rise in the Balearics.
While tourism makes up around 13% of Spain’s GDP, furious locals in travel hotspots have been protesting tourism in their regions, leaving holidaymakers feeling intimidated.
An estimated 15,000 locals joined the protest that snaked through the capital Palma and headed for Weyler Square on Saturday, where holidaymakers were out in force for dinner and drinks.
Protesters hold a sign reading ‘We want to live, not survive’ during a demonstration to protest against the massification of tourism
While tourism makes up around 13% of Spain’s GDP, furious locals in travel hotspots have been protesting tourism in their regions
Polly Taylor, who was dining with three friends, said that she initially had no idea what the crowd were doing until they started to come closer to the restaurant as armed police began to show up on the scene.
‘It was like a storm was coming but we didn’t know what the storm was about….then the noise from the protestors just got louder and louder and we were swamped with them’, Taylor said.
The intimidating atmosphere continued as Taylor said the noticed signs reading: ‘Go home tourists’.
‘At that point, between the sea of people and…, it felt very intimidating to the point we discussed trying to leave and get out in case it turned nasty. We eventually managed to move into the restaurant to get off the street before any trouble could start’.
Protesters hold a banner reading “Mallorca is not for sale” during a demonstration to protest against the massification of tourism
A demonstrator holds a sign during a protest against mass tourism and gentrification
One protestor walked through the dining area on the street while ‘clapping and shouting’.
The Londoner said that she asked her waiter what the protest was about but he said that he didn’t know. ‘Clearly he did, but he seemed embarrassed,’ she added.
Now, Taylor said that she won’t be visiting Majorca again.
‘I will take my money elsewhere until they sort this all out. I understand their cause, being priced out of their own country owing to tourism, but they were targeting the wrong people.’
‘They never to target their government and the huge holiday companies. We were simply contributing to their economy by holidaying for a few days,’ Taylor said.
Anti-tourist sentiment is spreading across Spain, with Palma-based Laura Barcelo, who describes herself as a birth photographer, shocking some and winning the support of others by plastering a bus stop with a ‘no tourism’ message after leaving Majorca for a weekend away.
She shocked locals in the northern Spanish city of Bilbao by putting up a large-handwritten sign over a bus-stop billboard offering cheap flights to the Balearic Islands from just 19 Euros (£16) to enjoy the region’s ‘rhythm and waves’ which read: ‘The Balearic Islands are very overcrowded.
‘If you want to help us don’t come for the time being. We will welcome you back again if we manage to reverse this situation of unsustainable tourism.’
She added referencing the price of accommodation on islands like Majorca and Ibiza which protestors against the current tourism model have linked to Airbnb-style holiday rentals: ‘Flights at 19 euros, rents at 1,900 euros’ before signing off her message as ‘Una Mallorquina’ – English for ‘A Majorcan woman.’
She wrote on X, formerly Twitter, where she posted the photo of her protest: ‘I couldn’t leave Bilbao…without complaining and thanking a city that wishes us the best in this cause.’