Edition 79
www.thecourier.es
Friday, August 24, 2012
Our latest edition is always online at www.thecourier.es By DONNA GEE A TEENAGE holidaymaker’s dream night out ended in tragedy on Monday when he was killed in a freak accident as he cycled home along the N332.
BIKE RIDE TO DEATH
Jake Benton, 17, had just enjoyed what friends described as ‘’the best night of his life’’ and was heading back from Alicante when he took a wrong turning. His two companions said he fell just a few feet down an embankment on to concrete, hitting his head and dying instantly in a “one in a million” accident. Jake, a promising footballer, was on holiday with his mother, Jacqui, and twin sister Cara and had been enjoying a festival in with his cousin Luke and a friend. Said Jacqui: “Jake was an amazing twin brother to Cara and younger brother to Lewis. “He was a beautiful, loving and caring son and did not ask for much out of life. It is so devastating that his life ended so soon in such a tragic way. He will live forever tragedy was compounded by in our hearts.” the fact Jake and twin Cara His aunt, Diane MacIntyre, 49, said: “He was just having were due to be celebrating fun and had been to a festi- their 18th birthdays next val. Luke told me Jake had month. “Now we will be mourning said it had been the best his death rather than celenight of his life.” Diane said Monday’s brating his birth,” she said.
Jake, 17, killed in freak tumble Jake’s aunt added: “He was the most beautiful, amazing nephew who brought joy to all the family. I never heard him be nasty or utter a critical word to anyone.” She said that Jake had
gone to the festival near Alicante with Luke and a friend. “Luke and Jake were very close. They were cycling home when Jake took a wrong turn and went over the embankment. It was a one-
in-a-million thing. “We think he died instantly, but it is some comfort to know he was with Luke at the time. Luke said he held Jake until the ambulance arrived. “It is so difficult for all the family. It is the worst thing that can happen to you as a parent..” Jake, from Longstanton, near Cambridge, was a talented footballer and a keen tennis player for Longstanton Tennis Club. The Chelsea fan was training to be a mechanic
Jake Benton
€1,000 fine stuns folk bar
Frank and Phil - their music proved so costly
GUARDAMAR authorities have slapped a whopping 1,000-euro fine on a struggling bar boss – for providing gentle music for his customers. And some locals are so sympathetic to Graham Lilley’s plight that one customer thrust 30 euros into his hand and insisted he puts it towards the fine. “It is really touching that people are so supportive,’’ said Lilley, who runs Ricardo’s Bar at El Raso.
Graham insists he had no idea he required a special licence for Anglo-Irish folk duo Frank and Phil to stage a free singalong evening at Ricardo’s, which was virtually inaudible to anyone outside the bar. But police were obliged to investigate when someone in a rival bar made a complaint. “The police said themselves that they could hear nothing until they actually came into the bar,’’ Graham added. “But they had to investigate
because there had been a complaint. My accountant has been trying to negotiate a settlement with the Ayuntamiento and I was under the impression the fine would be reduced or cancelled. “But last week the police walked in with an official document saying I have to pay 1000 euros.’’ Last night, Guardamar Ayuntamiento spokesman
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