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Magaluf to ban drinking on streets in attempt to prevent sex scandals

Police will have powers to seize drinks from tourists on the street
Police will have powers to seize drinks from tourists on the street

Holidaymakers are set to be banned from drinking on the streets of Magaluf this summer.

New rules have been designed to prevent the drunken sex scandals that rocked the Majorcan resort last year.

Under the new proposals, expected to be introduced from 1 May, police will have powers to seize drinks from tourists on the street between 10pm and 8am.

There will also be drastic restrictions on pub crawls, which led to a teenage girl from Northern Ireland performing sex acts on two dozen men at a Magaluf bar last year.

Organisers will be banned from promoting drinking and sex games in their publicity material, and will only be allowed to stage one bar crawl per day between 8pm and midnight for a maximum of 20 people.

Meanwhile, shops will not be able to sell alcohol between midnight and 8am.

There will also be fines imposed on anyone taking part in or encouraging "balconing", a craze which sees tourists jump from their hotel balconies which has led to several deaths in Spain in recent years.

Nightclub owners, hoteliers, taxi firms and the police all gave their views.

The town hall said: "The common aim here is reaching agreements that give maximum guarantees over the security and quality of services tourists to Magaluf receive, to improve Magaluf's image as a tourist destination in national and international markets."

Last summer a 21-year-old girl from Co Armagh made headlines by agreeing to perform sex acts on 24 men during a pub crawl on the Punta Ballena strip.

After a video of the incident went viral on the internet, the bar where it happened was fined and shut down for 12 months, while pub crawl organisers were forced to apply for a licence.

In September a police chief and two officers were arrested on suspicion of leading an extortion racket in Magaluf.

It came after several local businessmen complained that police demanded cash from bar owners and would tip off cooperative bars before raids.