A MAN was robbed of his gold necklace on a Costa del Sol holiday resort after two thieves approached him pretending they urgently needed to borrow his mobile phone.
The victim tried to fight off one of the attackers as he lunged at him and ripped a gold chain and medallion from his neck.
A witness rushed to help but was unable to stop the robbery, which unfolded in Fuengirola at around 4.30am.
One suspect was later arrested by police, who also managed to recover the stolen jewellery.
The alarm was raised when the victim’s visibly shaken partner arrived at Fuengirola’s Policia Local headquarters to report the attack.
Officers raced to the scene, where they found the victim alongside the man who had tried to intervene.
According to police, two men had approached the couple and repeatedly asked to borrow their mobile phone to make an urgent call.
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But one suddenly pounced on the victim, snatching his jewellery before fleeing.
A search was launched, with officers from the Policia Nacional joining their local counterparts to track down the suspected attacker.
The victim subsequently identified a suspect, who was detained and taken to police headquarters for questioning.
The suspect was handed over to the Policia Nacional on suspicion of robbery with violence.
The incident comes just months after the Guardia Civil dismantled a travelling gang accused of targeting elderly and vulnerable people across Málaga, Valencia, Alicante and Murcia.
The four suspects allegedly used the so-called ‘affectionate hug’ trick, approaching victims with a friendly greeting or an excuse to get close before making off with their jewellery.
They were linked to 31 alleged offences across the four provinces, including eight violent robberies and 13 thefts in Malaga alone. All four were remanded in custody.
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