A YouTuber on a mission to expose the reality of Benidorm’s infamous nightlife was assaulted while exploring its “roughest pubs”.
Popular travel YouTuber Wendall became the target of an attack by a group of street scammers operating the notorious “potato men” con in the Spanish holiday hotspot.
The scam involves tricksters placing a pea under one of three hollowed-out potatoes on a makeshift table, with a plant in the crowd pretending to win money to dupe drunken holidaymakers into parting with their cash in a rigged game.
When Wendall tried to capture footage of the scam, tensions escalated, and he was grabbed by the throat.
The moment the fraudsters noticed Wendall’s camera, they aggressively demanded he leave the area. Wendall defended his actions, insisting: “I’m just filming an interesting thing. What’s the problem with me filming?” However, the situation quickly deteriorated as the scammers turned more hostile.
Following the assault, a stunned Wendall said: “He punched me in the throat, just for filming the street.”
Choosing discretion as the better part of valour, Wendall withdrew to continue his tour of what he jokingly referred to as “some of Benidorm’s roughest pubs”.
There, he encountered numerous merry, often bare-chested Brits indulging in stag and hen parties or extended stays at the beloved seaside town.
Most of the revellers he encountered were having a whale of a time, with many sipping on pints at Uncle Ron’s bar where a pint of lager is a mere €1, roughly 90p. The proprietor of Uncle Ron’s boasts about offering the cheapest pint in Benidorm, which might just be the most affordable pint in Western Europe.
The cut-price pint acts as a magnet for customers, who are then likely to order some grub, the owner says. He admits that while he does turn a profit on the beer, it’s “just not very much.”
Away from the bustling main drag, however, several of Benidorm’s watering holes are struggling. A number have shut their doors for good.
Wendall stumbled upon one such defunct pub that had been transformed into a makeshift shelter for the homeless.
He wrapped up his bar-hopping adventure at the town’s most infamous tavern. “Pretty much everybody I spoke to as I went around said the Red Lion’s the roughest pub,” he remarked. “It hasn’t got a good reputation.”
Yet, Wendall appeared to enjoy himself immensely, even getting roped in by the chap outside to entice customers in with the promise of a complimentary shot. Despite its notoriety, Benidorm’s rowdiest pub delivered a surprisingly tame night out.
“If there’s going to be a brawl on the strip,” he conceded, “it’s normally outside there,” but he also noted “it’s the centre of the Benidorm strip really. So what do you expect?”.
Indeed, for an early evening tipple, this notorious spot is far less risky than watching the local con artists ply their trade.
