A Brit has issued a warning to holidaymakers jetting off to Tenerife after becoming a target of the island’s “growing crime2.
Andrea Seldon told an online forum she was “really shook up” after a group tried to grab her bag while she was on an evening stroll.
The heartbroken Brit added that she was “gutted” as Tenerife is a “very special place” for herself and her partner.
Amanda warned those with handbags to wear them “across your body” to try to prevent yourself from becoming a victim.
She wrote: “I’m absolutely gutted to be posting this. I’ve read lots on here lately about pickpockets. Tonight we were walking along and I felt someone behind me.
“I thought he was trying to grab my bag or try to sell me something at first. I turned around and grabbed my bag. He backed off saying sorry. We carried on walking and I realised my bag was open.
“Luckily everything was still inside. Really shook up and upset but please ladies, make sure your bag is across your body and in front of you. Tenerife is a very special place to us. There were three of them. Two men and a woman.”
Responding to the post another Brit said she was left “unnerved” after catching someone trying to pickpocket her, adding that crime is becoming “rife”, as reported by The Olive Press.
She claimed: “I caught someone with their hand in my bag on the coastal paths just before you get to Porto Colom. He didn’t get a chance to get anything. It is unnerving.
“I always have my bag across my body now with my hand on it. On the same day at night outside the Conquistador they tried to do the same to my friend, she noticed, turned and whacked him across the head with her handbag and he ran off. It’s rife.”
According to TikTokuser @theknightstrider1, you need to be careful if you’re visiting the area during the winter months for a key reason.
Having lived in Tenerife for a decade, he said problems with pickpockets crop up every winter.
In the clip, he explained: “They are very good at it, and they will do pickpocketing. They will steal from cars if you leave stuff inside them, so please do be very careful with your wallets, and stuff like that.
“If you’re down here, busy, the golden mile area, the Sunday markets, the Tuesday markets, all of that – those busy areas – people bumping into you, just be careful. Just like at home, we do have pickpockets around.”