British tourists are being urged to keep “all” their belongings in Spain on them following a pickpocketing incident. Holidaymakers in Europe have been issued an urgent and frantic warning from a Brit after she was pickpocketed.
Jess was left distraught and tearful in the McDonald’s restaurant in Salou.
Speaking in her post on TikTok Jess cried: “My passport, my two cards, everything is gone. How the hell am I going to get home? I’ve just had to ring the police and now I’ve got to walk 1.4 miles to the station.
“Someone’s tried using my card but I’ve phoned both of them. I’m just putting it out there. Just keep your stuff on you and not around you. Anything can happen anywhere.
She warned fellow travellers to keep their wits about them: “You just never know when it’s going to happen to yourself so always be alert and on it so it doesn’t happen to you.”
Jess was flooded with supportive messages from people offering words of consolation. One TikTok user reached out to say: “Unfortunately it’s well known in Spain for this happening, you need a cross-body bag and it is always closed.”
Another commenter said, “On holiday I never take my card out with me and only take enough cash to do me for what I’m going out for.” While someone else said: “Always get a hotel safe, why would you carry your passport about whilst on holiday especially if you’re there for a few days?”
This TikTok user offered her some advice, saying: “You need to go to the UK embassy, they’ll get you a new passport for you to get home.”
Barcelona is known for having a large number of pickpockets and travellers are always urged to remain vigilant. Pickpockets are the number one crime risk for visitors in the Catalan region.
In 2023, pickpocketing accounted for 48.1 per cent of crimes committed in Barcelona, according to Spanish police.
Earlier this year, Euronews.com reported that Las Ramblas in Barcelona is Europe’s number one most heavily pickpocketed tourist spot. Las Ramblas is one of the continent’s busiest pedestrian streets and is infamous for its thefts, which often happen while visitors are watching one of the many street performers there.